Hiding Me
by SweetestSymphony
Summary: Slightly AU. Rogue has different reasons for doing the things that she does, namely her mother and her fiance. Follows the events of Evo, but they are slighty different. Bad summary, again. M for language.
1. Nothin Like The Sun

**A/N****: It's me with another story. This one is sorta AU. It starts before Rogue meets the X-Men.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything. Not even the chapter titles. They are from the song _Color Of Water _by Family Force 5.**

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"Tonight is the night, Raven. The X-Men will come to get Anna tonight. Make sure that she is ready." 

"Of course she is ready, Irene. She knows exactly what to do." Mystique leaned back in the chair she was sitting in. The humid Mississippi air hung around them as they sat on the porch.

The girl in question was getting ready for a party. The seventeen-year-old was covered from head to toe by the request of her mother. Raven had told her that tonight would be a big night. She would have to absorb a boy named Cody to set her plan in motion.

"What a bitch," Anna mumbled. She hated absorbing people and made sure that her mother knew it. That was why she had worked so hard to get control of her powers when they had surfaced the previous year. She had been home schooled until she could control them, using the majority of her time to practice.

Anna fingered her long auburn hair. An idea suddenly occurred to her. She grabbed a pair of scissors and cut the long locks off just below her chin. She frowned in the mirror, not sure what she thought of the look. She shrugged and turned to leave the room. It was hair, it's grow back.

"Ready, Anna?"

"Ah'm comin. Hold on a minute," she hollered down the stairs.

Mystique was waiting when the girl came down the steps. "What have you done to your hair?"

Anna gave her an evil smile. "Ah'm supposed to be the Rogue, right? This looks more like a gothic bitch look than the long hair."

Raven had to agree with her daughter. "You know what to do, right?"

"Ah absorb Cody. The X-Men come to recruit me. You shift into them and scare the hell outta me and they leave without me. Then we go to Bayville to join up with those other two you've recruited. We join up with Magneto and wait for his next command."

"Good girl." Mystique gave her a twisted smile. "Are your blocks in place?"

"They're always in place, Mother," Rogue informed her dryly. "Oh, Ah almost forgot to tell ya."

"Tell me what?"

"Ah'll go along with this on one condition."

"What's that?"

"Ah get to see Remy before Ah leave."

"Fine, but don't worry about him too much. I believe that you will be reunited with him in Bayville."

Rogue gave Mystique a questioning look. "What do ya mean?"

"Let's just say that he may be involved in some plans."

"Mother, ya better not be fuckin with my fiancé's head."

"Why would I want to do that? Your marriage will unite the Brotherhood with the Thieves Guild, making our team much more powerful."

"Uh huh," Rogue said boredly, studying her nails. She heard it all before. "Ya just lucky that ya arranged for me to marry Remy instead of one of those other thieves."

"He's the best. Do you think I'd make you settle for any less that that?"  
"Ya'd better not."

"And since Belladonna's unfortunate demise, Jean Luc has been looking for someone to marry the boy."

"Uh huh. Ah'm outta here." Rogue put on her boots and went outside. She grinned when she saw the dark haired twenty-year-old sitting on a black bike. "Hey, sugah."

The man let an easy smile slide onto his face. "Hey, yourself, chére." He greeted Anna with a kiss. "Need a ride?"

"Not really, but if you're offerin." She slid her leg over the seat behind him.

"Glad to see that you're willin to give a thief a chance." Remy grinned at her over his shoulder.

"Honey, ya really think Ah care that you're a thief? My mother's a fuckin assassin for Christ's sake."

"I know. Where are we goin?"

"Ah'm goin to a party. Ah don't know where you're goin."

"You didn't invite me to this party."

"It's a high school thing. Ah didn't think that was ya scene."

"You're right."

"Sides, mother dearest has decided to set her plan in action tonight."

"Figures. When things are goin great, the bitch has to mess em up."

"That's my mother. Take a left up here." Remy followed Anna's directions. Soon they arrived at the house where the party was being held. Anna gave Remy another kiss as she climbed off the bike. "See ya later, sugah."

Anna had taken a few steps when Remy's voice stopped her. "Anna." She turned around and raised a questioning brow. "Ya look hot as a goth."

"Thanks, sugah, but it's Rogue now." Rogue grinned at him and went inside.

The music was blasting and Anna had to keep herself from making a break for the dance floor. _You're the Rogue now. Act like it._ She found someplace on the deck where she was alone and waited. If Irene was right, Cody would ask her to dance at some point. Then she could get Mystique's plan going.

Rogue had been standing there for a good hour before anyone even looked her way. She didn't notice because her thoughts were on what Mystique's plan would do to her and Remy. _If she fucks it up, Ah'll kill her._

Rogue looked over when she sensed a presence next to her. Tall, blond, letterman jacket. Cody.

"Um, hi. I'm Cody."

"Ah'm Rogue."

"You want to dance?"

"Sure." _Here goes nothing._ Rogue let her powers kick on, waiting for the touch. She didn't have to wait long. A few seconds into the dance, Cody tripped and knocked her down. Rogue bit her tongue to keep from cussing the boy out. He reached out to help her up, his hand coming into contact with her bare skin.

Rogue gritted her teeth as his memories flowed into her head. She always hated this part of her mutation. Rogue sorted out everything that was Cody's and pushed it to the back of her mind.

She became aware of the stares and whispering of everyone else at the party. Realizing that Cody was still out, Rogue ran for it. She pushed past Cody's friend and ran out into the road.

_Shit. Which way?_ _Ah can't lead them back to my house or they'll find Remy and Mystique._ Making a split second decision, Rogue ran toward Cody's house. As far as the X-Men knew, she had no control and wouldn't be able to sort her thoughts from Cody's. It wouldn't be unreasonable for her to be confused and go to the wrong house.

Rogue went into Cody's house and sat down on the bed. Not more than five minutes later, a short man dressed in a blue and orange suit burst through the door and came toward her. Rogue jumped off the bed and got into a fighting stance. She noticed the claws that had been out when he entered the room.

"Holy fuck, mother. Scare the shit outta me why don't ya?"

Mystique didn't respond. She lunged at Rogue, catching her shirt with one of the claws.

"Dammit! This is my favorite shirt out of the goth stuff ya bought." Rogue picked up a board from a cabinet that had been smashed and hit Mystique in the head with it. She went down for a second, and Rogue ran for it. She knew that her mother would be pissed when she got up.

Mystique was waiting for her in the backyard, disguised as Storm. She threw some kind of grenade toward her. The explosion looked strangely close to lightning from Rogue's perspective. _Psycho bitch _Rogue thought as she ran

Rogue almost ran Irene down on accident. She stopped just in time to avoid hitting her. "Irene? What are ya doin out here?"

"Part of the plan. The X-Men are coming this way. Raven wants you to absorb the fuzzy blue one."

"Right." Rogue looked up to see Wolverine, Shadowcat, and Nightcrawler running at her. She sprinted off and jumped a fence, turning her powers back on as she jumped. She pulled off a glove and waited.

Kurt teleported next to her. Rogue jumped at the sudden appearance. The boy in front of her wasn't blue or fuzzy, but she knew all about image inducers. She let the boy ramble on about his story.

Rogue felt someone tackle her and attempt to pin her arms. Without a second thought, she fought back. Her attacker was smaller and weaker. She threw the younger girl off. Kurt grabbed her and Rogue used this to her advantage. She pushed him away with her bare hand, making it look like it was an accident.

Rogue quickly sorted out his thoughts and focused on his ability to teleport. She left the dark haired girl and the blue elf in the garden. When she reappeared, Rogue found herself in a graveyard. She sat down near a headstone and waited.

Rogue saw the red head approach from the corner of her eye. Rogue quickly checked her mental blocks. _Great. Someone Ah can screw around with._ Rogue looked at the red head as she talked. As soon as she heard 'X-Men', Rogue flipped out. Jean gave her a communicator before Ororo and Scott came up. Rogue took off when she saw Storm.

Rogue hid in a large stone building. _Ah'm getting sick of this. Can't they just leave so Ah can go spent time with Remy?_ Mystique, disguised as Cyclops dropped from a hole on the roof. Rogue jumped up and ran, shoving the real Cyclops off the porch for good measure. This set off a chain reaction when his visor went off and an optic beam hit a power line.

Rogue ran into Mystique-Jean next. She teleported out of the building, just to be confronted by real Jean. Rogue gritted her teeth as Ororo came up. When the woman reached for her, Rogue grabbed her bare wrist.

Rogue flew up into the air using Ororo's powers. After causing a slight flood and knocking down some power lines, Rogue used Kurt's powers to teleport home. Mystique was waiting with Remy and Irene.

"All done, dear?"

"No thanks to you," Rogue spat, pulling off the ripped mesh shirt that covered her tank. She threw it onto a nearby chair and took off the gloves that she hated so much. Raven chuckled at the girl's spirited answer.

"Charles knows that I had a hand in tonight's events. But he thinks that I was trying to recruit you to Erik's Brotherhood. He has no idea what is really going on."

"Ah'll tell ya what's goin on. First ya scare the hell outta me by comin in like Wolverine and slicing up my shirt. Ah've got a massive fuckin headache from absorbin four people in the last hour. Ah could feel Xavier tryin to get into my head the whole time so he could track me."

"Anythin I can do, chére?"

"No, but thanks, Rems."

"Hate to break this up, Anna, but you have a long day tomorrow. We are moving to Bayville so that you can meet the other Brotherhood members. Also, you are no longer Anna Marie Darkholme. All your records are under Rogue Adler."

"Case ya forgot, my name is Anna Marie D'Ancanto, not Anna Marie Darkholme. Ah'm goin to bed." Rogue started to leave the room. She looked back at Remy. "Ya comin, sugah?"

"Oui."

"Hold it right there. He's not spending the night."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Mother, if Ah recall correctly, ya said that we could spend time together before we left. If we're leaving tomorrow, that just leaves tonight. So good night." Rogue left the room with Remy in tow.

The next morning, Rogue and Mystique got ready to leave. They had a private jet coming to pick them up at ten. Rogue took her time saying goodbye to Irene and Remy.

"Swamp Rat, Ah'm keeping in touch with Henri, so Ah'll know if you're out screwin some girl."

"Would I do that, chére?" Remy gave her an innocent smile.

"If ya do, Ah'm gonna be back down here."

"That's just incentive for me."

"And Ah'm gonna castrate ya."

Remy winced. "I'll be good. You're keeping your cell, oui?"

"Yeah. Ah'm takin it with me."

Remy leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "I'll call you."

"Ya better."

"Anna! Let's get going!"

"Bitch," Rogue mumbled under her breath. Remy grinned and kissed her again.

"I love you, Anna."

"Love ya too, sugah." Remy gave her one last kiss before she pulled away and went out to the waiting limo. Raven was already seated on one side. Rogue took a seat opposite her.

"The boys at the boarding house will need guidance with their training. I expect you to help them."

"What do you know about them?"

Raven handed her two folders. "The older boy is Lance Alvers, 18. He's from Northbrook, Illinois. He has been aware of his gift for some time, but only recently was I allowed to recruit him. He has the power of geographical manipulation and control over seismic energy."

"He can create earthquakes?"

"Pretty much. The second boy is Todd Tolansky, 16. He has a quite disgusting power. He is more or less a human frog."

"Great. What do you actually expect to be able to do with these two? They look like jokes to me."

"Not everyone has had the opportunity to discover the extent of their powers."

"They also haven't had the pleasure of having an assassin as a mother," Rogue bit out sarcastically. Raven frowned.

"No, you're right. Lance is an orphan and Todd is a mystery."

"Oh. So tell me, mother, how does Remy fit into this little plan?"

Raven gave her a twisted smile. "All will be revealed in due time, my dear."

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**What do ya'll think? I'm posting the 1st 2 chapters today and going form there. I swear I spell chacked this, but if there's any mistakes, let me know. Hope you enjoy.**


	2. To Keep You From Stumbling In The Dark

**A/N****: It's me with another story. This one is sorta AU. It starts before Rogue meets the X-Men.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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"Frog boy, what the fuck did ya do with my phone?!" Mystique sighed and massaged her temples. The house had been anything but quiet since Rogue had moved in the month before. It didn't help that people kept 'borrowing' Rogue's cell, causing her to miss Remy's phone calls. 

Mystique watched Todd run past the doorway to the kitchen, followed closely by Rogue. A few seconds later, there was a loud crash and Todd screaming for help.

"That'll teach ya to touch my stuff."

"Let go!"

"Hey, baby. Why don't we ditch these losers and go out?"

"Pietro, if you don't get that hand offa me, Ah'm gonna break it."

"Come on, Rogue. You know you want me."

"Yeah. Dead. Now get away from me."

"Not until you admit that there is something between us."

"Fine. Ah admit it. Ya make me have feelings that no one else does."

"Really?"

"Yeah, the overwhelming urge to vomit when ya talk to me. Now get outta the way."

"Pietro, if she really desires to kill you, I will not stand in the way," Mystique called from the next room.

"But my father…"

"Tells me who to recruit and when. He doesn't know the personalities, just the powers. Rogue has a volatile personality. I strongly suggest that you leave her alone. If she decides to get revenge on you, there is no way that I can stop her. She is very stubborn."

"What's going on down here?"

"Bout time ya got up, Rocky."

"Morning to you too. What's for breakfast?"

"Whatever you make."

"But…"

"Ah ain't your servant. Ya shoulda got down here before Fred." Mystique opened her mouth to intervene when Rogue's phone rang.

"Hey, sugah," she heard Rogue say in the sweet voice reserved for the one person that could get through to her. Mystique leaned back in her chair and went back to reading. Rogue wandered into the room and sat down in a chair near the window.

"Ah'm good. How bout you?"

"Fine. I miss you, chére," Mystique heard from the other end of the phone conversation.

"Ah miss ya too, sugah." Mystique tuned out her daughter's conversation. She had heard many just like it.

"What?!" Rogue's voice jolted her out of her peaceful moment.

"What's wrong?" Rogue's expression let her know that something big had happened.

"Did ya know that bucket head was gonna try to recruit Remy?"

"He's moving faster than I anticipated."

Rogue put a fist on her hip. "So ya knew about this?"

"I knew that he was watching Remy as a possibility."

"Why didn't ya tell me?"

"Erik does not like his plans revealed."

"Ah don't give a damn what he likes. If it involves my fiancé, Ah'd like to know about it."

"You will, eventually. Has he decided whether or not to accept the offer?"

"Ah don't know." Rogue hit the speaker phone button. "Have ya decided, sugah?"

"Not yet, chére."

"Remy, it would be wise to take Erik up on his offer," Mystique interjected.

"Bonjour, Raven. I told him that I would think about it and give him an answer tomorrow."

"Trust me, you do not want to turn the man down when he makes an offer."

"So I'll tell him yes. Long as I get to see Anna again, I don't really care."

"I miss ya, Remy."

"Miss ya too, chére."

"Love ya."

"Love ya too."

"Talk to ya later."

"Bye."

Rogue hung up her phone and looked at Mystique. "So why does Erik want Remy?"

Mystique shrugged. "Remy is a powerful mutant that needs little training. He's in control of his powers and his thief training is very useful." She glanced at the clock on the wall. "Don't you have training in ten minutes?" Rogue swore and left the room.

"Alright, let's get down to training," she called to the boys living in the house. Five minutes later, they were all assembled and in uniform. "Ah can't have ya makin idiots out of yourselves like ya did with the blue freak and that machine. So let's go."

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"Will Rogue Adler please report to the principal's office." Rogue groaned and sunk down in her seat. The last thing she wanted to do was deal with her mother at that moment. She was still pissed at Mystique for keeping things from her.

Rogue noticed the teacher looking at her, so she grabbed her bag and left the room. She walked into Mystique's office and sat in one of her chairs. "Ya wanted me, mother?"

"Yes, Rogue. I have arranged for you to go on a little field trip with the geology club."

"Ah'm not in the geology club."

"Yes, you are."

"What if Ah don't want to go?"

"You're going. Think of it as a night away from the idiots."

"Okay, Ah'm going."

"Good. You leave in twenty minutes. I want you to act as though you have a crush on Scott Summers."

"Why?"

"You're untouchable. Why would you not want the tall, handsome mutant?"

"Ah already have a taller and even more handsome guy, in case you've forgotten."

"Rogue, you agreed to go along with my plan. This is part of it. Besides, you already rescued the one X-Man from Fred, did you not?"

"Even you aren't cruel enough to wish that on someone."

"You're going to do it. Don't forget that I have influence over whether or not Erik will recruit Remy."

"Fine."

Raven smiled at her daughter. "Glad you see it my way."

Rogue rolled her eyes and stalked out of the office. "Stupid bitch," she muttered under her breath. Rogue had to admit that Mystique had a point. If it weren't for Remy, she might actually be interested in Scott.

Rogue pulled her trench tighter around her. It had been a gift from Remy that she'd rarely used in Mississippi but was well used in New York. It still held some of the scent that was uniquely Remy from the last time she had worn it around him.

She climbed on the bus with the other teenagers and took a seat in the back, glaring at anyone that dared to come near her. She noticed the teacher talking to Jean Grey outside the bus, but she really didn't care what it was about. She was more preoccupied with finding a way to act like she had a thing for Scott without feeling unfaithful to Remy.

_Hell, maybe Ah should join the X-Men and get Mystique off my back._ Strangely, Rogue liked the thought. She knew that it would piss her off more than anything. _Maybe a little revenge for her keeping stuff about Remy from me._ _Then again, she'd probably enjoy having someone on the inside._

Rogue leaned her head against the window as the bus started moving. She really had no interest in geology, but a day away from the idiots that Mystique recruited was worth putting up with boring rock talk. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.

When Rogue woke up, they weren't even half way there. She rolled her eyes and pulled out her phone. She had a new text message. _Hey, chére. Miss me?_

_U wish, swamp rat, _Rogue sent back. Her phone vibrated a minute later.

_Y' wound me, chére. _Rogue grinned at the typical Remy response. She typed a response, silently thanking Mystique for her unlimited texting.

Rogue and Remy exchanged texts for the remainder of the bus ride. Rogue didn't notice when the bus slid in the snow. The only thing that got her attention was the teacher standing at the front of the bus, telling them to unload and head for the caves for the night.

Rogue groaned and slipped her phone back into her bag before following the other kids off the bus. Her mood improved when the teacher told her to drive one of the snowmobiles. She challenged Scott to a race and won easily after scaring him and the girl that was riding with her.

Inside the cave, Rogue wandered off from the group. She really didn't care what the teacher was saying and she wanted to explore a little. She felt someone following her and a quick glance back revealed that it was Scott. Rogue's lips turned up in a smirk. _Guess this won't be too hard after all, Mystique. _She turned to face him.

"What is it you want from me, Scott?" Scott went off into some long explanation and Rogue actually listened.

Rogue turned to walk away when someone else came up. Rogue glanced back to see Scott's friend Paul. Rogue caught a flash of gold in his eyes and gritted her teeth. Mystique was following her.

Sure enough, Mystique morphed back into herself and shoved Scott over the edge. Rogue glared at her.

"What the hell is your problem?" Rogue demanded, dropping to her knees to help Scott up.

"I'm protecting you, my dear, from his lies. He only wants to hurt you." Rogue shot her a dirty look before looking into the ravine.

"Where's Paul?"

"He missed the bus." Rogue gave Mystique an evil smile before grabbing her wrist and absorbing her. Rogue pushed all of Mystique's thoughts to the back of her mind. She'd already seen them before.

Rogue jumped down into the ravine and landed on a ledge. She pulled Scott up, only for them to both jump when Mystique rolled a boulder toward them. Luckily, they laded in a river. Scott blasted away a rock and pulled them onto a ledge before they fell over a waterfall.

They fell off the ledge and landed on a rock bridge. The fall nearly knocked Scott unconscious. Rogue talked to him for a minute or two before he passed out.

Rogue looked up when she heard a noise to see Mystique in the form of a wolf. She came toward Rogue and Scott. Rogue carefully dragged Scott backward and pulled off his sunglasses so he could sent up an optic beam to help the X-Men locate them. She absorbed him and blasted Mystique, causing her to shift into a hawk.

Wolverine jumped out of the plane to save them from Mystique. After helping them into the plane, Wolverine turned to her.

"Where's your allegiance, kid? Us or them?"

"If I don't say you, will I get thrown out of this jet?"

"Nope. Not our style. We've either earned your trust by now or we haven't."

"You."

Logan offered her a feral grin. "Welcome to the X-Men."

Rogue smiled back at him. _Have fun with the boys, Mystique._

Back at the mansion, Rogue was shown to her room before following the others to the study. The Professor was waiting to talk to them about Mystique being Raven Darkholme. They asked what Rogue thought about the subject.

"Ah've learned that honesty is very important." Rogue started, knowing that she was lying to these people about what she was, but telling them her true feelings about it. After all, Mystique and Remy had always been honest with her. Not everything could be revealed, but they didn't hide anything that they were allowed to tell her.

"You're right. I am sorry for keeping this from you all. I should have trusted that you would handle the situation appropriately if you had known," Professor Xavier told them.

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**Here's the second chapter. So far, we've covered up through the Turn of the Rogue. The next chapter will probably jump ahead a little, since I'm trying to do episode with lots of Rogue in them. Anywya, let me know what you think.**


	3. Thought Out Once Or Twice

**A/N****: It's me with another story. This one is sorta AU. It starts before Rogue meets the X-Men.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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Rogue quickly adjusted to living the cushiony life of an X-Man. Even the danger room sessions were better than the training she had received with Mystique. Admittedly, the sparing partners left something to be desired when compared with her last partner, but not all men were built like her Cajun.

Rogue had been reintroduced to Sabertooth, an ex-fling of her mother's. She had hated the fleabag when she had met him years ago and she was pleased to find out that the feeling hadn't changed. Luckily for her, he didn't recognize her. She didn't even want to think of the results if he had called her out in front of Evan and Kitty.

Then again, the valley girl that she had been stuck rooming with wouldn't have cared at the time anyway. She was too busy trying to beat Rogue for a part in the school musical. Too bad that Rogue was a natural born dancer..

The hardest part of being a member of the X-Men had been facing off against the Brotherhood. They had gone head to head in a challenge at a survival camp a few weeks ago. Of course, something had come up and they were forced to work together to save Mystique and the Professor from Cain Marko, the Professor's psycho brother.

Truth be told, Rogue would have rather not worked with both teams to save Mystique from the Juggernaut. She had seen Mystique face off against more difficult opponents than Cain. She knew that she could easily save herself from him.

Now Rogue was dealing with Mystique's nightmares as a result of absorbing her. She had experienced several involving Kurt, Mystique, a castle, and Magneto. Of course, Rogue already knew what these dreams were about. She'd heard the story several times from Mystique and Irene.

Rogue's screaming had woken Kitty up in the middle of the night several times. Rogue had eventually woken up the entire mansion, leading to a late night mind reading session with Professor Xavier. He had seen the dream in Rogue's mind and eventually told Kurt about it. The X-Men had ended up fighting the Brotherhood when Kurt attempted to meet up with Mystique.

It had hurt Rogue to fight with the boys that she had trained, but it also gave her a chance to see how far they had come. She saw them on a daily basis at school and still talked to Lance and Pietro, but had never gotten a chance to reassess their battle skills before she had left. She was impressed with how much they had improved in a short amount of time.

Rogue had also seen Wolverine go crazy and head off to Canada after seeing a place on the news. She hadn't heard much about it, other than what Kitty and Kurt had told her from first hand experience in Canada with him. From the sound of it, she never wanted to cross the Wolverine. Not that she had much to worry bout, since Wolverine, Scott, and the Professor had gone to Hawaii that morning on some search for Scott's long lost brother.

Rogue rolled her eyes at the thought of the older boy. Scott. He wasn't half the man that her man was. True to her promise to Mystique, she was acting like she was actually attracted to him, but Rogue could clear tell that he was drawn to Jean. It saved her the trouble of getting his attention.

Rogue and the others got to the hangar just as the jet left. They had been planning on going to Hawaii with Scott. They all jumped at Kurt's suggestion to go to the beach. Rogue took her time following them. She had sent Remy a text message on her cell, which she used to keep in touch with Mystique, Remy, and her other connections. She noticed a cat that she immediately identified as Mystique when she ran down the driveway.

"Hustle it up, Rogue, before Auntie O shows up and dry docks our plans!" Evan called from in the X-Van.

"Sorry. Ah couldn't find Jean, so Ah left her a note," she told the other three as she climbed in the back.

They were on their way to the beach when Rogue started to relax. "Man, ya feel that ocean breeze. Ah've been goin into meltdown here covered up like this. Ah hate it."

"Yeah, well you should try being blue and fury. It's murder." Rogue smiled at her brother's comment.

Her relaxed state changed when she saw the road ahead cracking. "Kurt the road!" Kurt swerved to miss the column of rock coming up in the middle of the road.

Avalanche's Jeep started to follow them. Lance used his powers to attempt to knock the van off the road. Spyke retaliated by shooting some spikes at the front of Lance's Jeep. Lance caused a rockslide to block the road. Kurt swerved around it and ended up jumping the van onto a ramp going down to the beach. The van stopped when it ran into Fred.

"Come here often?" he asked.

Lance stood up in the seat of his Jeep. "Let's party." Fred grabbed the van and flipped them out onto the beach before Lance buried them in the sand.

"Hey man, that didn't take too long at all," Todd commented. Kurt teleported Rogue out from under the sand. Kurt tackled Avalanche from behind while Rogue took out Toad. Kitty phased herself and Evan out, only for Evan to be attacked by Pietro. Kitty looked up in time to see Blob coming down on top of her. She phased out from under him and collapsed.

Kurt continued to fight Lance. He tried to teleport before Lance attacked, but his teleportation took the rocks that Lance had crushed along with him. He ended up falling form the sky with the rocks landing on top of him. Pietro buried Evan in the sand.

Meanwhile, Todd was hopping around to confuse Rogue. H made a big mistake when he tried to grab her with his tongue. She slammed the van door on the amphibious boy's tongue, causing him to writhe in pain.

"Can't say Ah much want your slimy thoughts in my head, Toad, but Ah'm droppin ya right here," Rogue told him while removing a glove.

"Relax, Rogue," Avalanche told her. "It's over."

"And here's your reward." Rogue looked up to see a metal orb headed her way. It opened and three mechanical arms shot out to grab her. Two wrapped around her arms and one wrapped around her waist and pulled her back into the orb.

Rogue sat in the cramped, dark space trying to figure out what was going on. From the metal, she assumed that it could be the work of Magneto. She looked at her phone, only to realize that it had no service. _Where is this thing taking me that Ah don't get service? _

Her question was soon answered when the orb opened to reveal a strange looking base on a large asteroid. Rogue didn't even get to take a good look around before she was knocked out by some kind of fumes in the room the orb landed in.

When Rogue came to, she saw Magneto, Scott, and some blond guy that she assumed to be Alex standing near a big machine. Scott and Alex listened to something that Magnetos said before walking in the door of the machine. Rogue watched Scott try to come back out, but the door closed in his face.

There was a loud noise and Scott and Alex came back out. Both had white hair and looked much older. She watched Magneto tell them something before they disappeared.

There was another loud noise as the XM Velocity came crashing through the wall across from the tube that Rogue was stuck in. The remaining X-Men came out of the helicopter, along with Mystique and Todd. Wolverine cut the wires to the stasis tubes, freeing them from their confined space.

"Storm, Rogue, prepare the jet," Xavier told them. Rogue ran off with Storm to follow orders. Storm started the jet and got it ready for takeoff before they went back to help the others.

Rogue watched Pietro torment Evan. He finally sent out of a row of spikes, causing the silver haired boy to stop long enough for Rogue to touch him. Evan picked up the older boy and headed toward the jet.

Rogue took advantage of Pietro's super speed to assess the situation. She sped over to Storm to give her a report.

"Scott and his brother are still buried. And Wolverine's got his hands full."

"Go," Storm commanded her. Rogue sped off to find them.

They were waiting for Scott and Alex in the jet when the landing area broke. Rogue grabbed her seat in a death grip as the jet went into a freefall. Wolverine pulled the nose up just in time to keep them from crashing into the ground.

Scott and Alex used their powers to stop them from meeting their deaths as a result of a jet less freefall. They turned their powers onto the asteroid, managing to destroy it. With the destruction, they changed back into their teenage selves. Rogue watched the sky, well aware that her mother had just narrowly escaped death.

Rogue watched Jean approach the older boy. _That's it, you little redheaded bitch. Go help your boyfriend,_ Rogue thought, not worried about Jean or the Professor picking up on her thoughts. She watched Jean kneel down and put Scott's ruby quartz glasses back on his face.

"Jean, is everyone okay?"

"See for yourself." Jean stood up and Scott looked at the rest of his team in relief.

"I'm sorry, all of you. Professor, I just, you know. I made some bad choices."

_Well that's just fan-fuckin-tastic. Now he realizes that after he tried to blow my mother sky high._ Rogue was careful to keep her face blank as the thought crossed her mind.

"More like misinformed choices. But we owe you our lives, both you and your brother."

Rogue rolled her eyes and turned to look at the Brotherhood boys, who were sitting a few feet away. She managed to hear part of their conversation.

"Huh, wonder what's gonna happen to us?" Todd asked his teammates.

"Two metal spheres shot out of that asteroid before it blew," Avalanche responded. His face grew grim as he continued. "Mystique is out there, believe it. And she'll be back."

Rogue tuned out the rest of the boy's conversation. She knew all that she needed to know. Mystique was still alive. She realized that Scott's brother was talking.

"So much for Havok, huh?"

"Yeah. Ah, the white hair looked lousy on you anyway."

"Hey, Scott. If nothing else, at least I have my brother back and that's what really matters to me."

"Yeah. Me too. And I promise nothing is ever going to split us up again."

Rogue gave a mental roll of her eyes as the boys hugged. _What a bunch of pansies._

"With time, Alex, your powers will emerge on their own and if you'll allow, we'll be there to help you along the way. All of us. Together. Unified. Because we are the X-Men."

Rogue really had to work to keep from laughing at the Professor's speech. _It sounds like some damn recruiting commercial or something._

When they got back to the mansion after dropping Alex off, Rogue headed for her room. Unfortunately, Kitty was already there. _Great. How can Ah talk to Remy and my mother when she's here?_ Rogue had just finished her thought when an idea occurred to her.

"Hey, Kitty, is there a park round here?"

"Like, yeah. There's totally one down the street."

"Thanks." Rogue left the room an headed for the front doors.

"Where ya goin, Stripes?"

"Out." Logan growled and put himself between her and the door.

"Where?"

"Ah'm just gonna go down to the park and clear my head."

Logan moved to the side. "Be careful and be back by curfew."

"Ah will." Rogue took her time walking to the park. She was really enjoying being away from everyone for a little while. The mansion was crazy for someone that had grown up as an only child.

When she got to the park, Rogue sat on a bench and stared at the stars for a few minutes. They made her miss her southern home. There was nothing that she loved better than laying on a blanket with Remy and stargazing on humid Southern nights.

Thinking about Remy brought her out of her reverie. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed his number. It rang a few times before she got his voicemail.

"This is Remy's voicemail," his smooth voice drawled. "I can't answer my phone. Leave a message and I'll call you back."

"Remy, it's your chére. Call me back. Love ya, sugah."

Rogue hung up the phone and dialed a different number. It rang once before a woman's voice answered.

"Hello, Anna."

"Hi, Mother. Nice to see that you made it."

"Are you talking about that little thing with Erik's sanctuary?"

"What do you think, Mother?"

"Did you really think that I would be gotten rid of so easily?"

"Ah know how hard it is to kill off a bitch, if that's what you mean."

Raven's laughter filled the line. "I see that your attitude hasn't improved since joining Xavier."

"If you thought that it would, you're crazier than Ah thought."

"Perhaps. How is the plan going?"

"Fine. Everyone seems to think that Ah've got something for Scott. Except for him, of course. That boy is so dense."

"And what about Xavier?"

"He can't get into my head, so he doesn't suspect anything."

"Good. You're doing a good job, my dear. How is Kurt?"

"Fine. He's as annoying as hell."

"I imagine."

"Have you talked to Remy? Ah called him, but he didn't answer."

"Yes. He decided to join Magneto's Acolytes, as he is calling them. They have moved somewhere in New York, but Erik refuses to tell me where." Rogue could hear the indignation in her mother's voice at being kept out of the loop. She was almost tempted to laugh.

"So ya don't know what he's doing?"

"Oh, I know what Erik is doing alright." Rogue was tempted to point out that she had meant Remy, but something in her mother's voice made her stop.

"And what would that be?"

"All will be revealed in due time, dear. For now, just focus on Xavier."

"What are you planning on doing now? The X-Men believe that you are dead, but the Brotherhood boys know otherwise."

"I'll just have to become someone else. Obviously I can't come back as Raven Darkholme without some suspicion."

"So be Risty Wilde."

"Who?"

"That purple haired punk that you use as a disguise some of the time."

"That is a good idea. I'll enroll myself in Bayville High as a student and then I can keep an eye on the X-Men and the Brotherhood."

Rogue opened her mouth to respond when her phone beeped. "Hang on a second. I'm getting another call."

"Alright."

Rogue pulled the phone away from her ear and pressed a button. "Hello?"

"Bonjour, chére."

"Hi, Swamp Rat. Can you hang on a second?"

"Sure."

Rogue switched back over to the other line. "Mother, I'll talk to you later. I have Remy on the other line."

"That's fine. Goodbye, dear."

"Bye." Rogue hung up and switched back over. "Ah'm back."

"Good."

"Ah guess that this means that ya got my message?"

"Oui. I've been meanin to cal you, but I haven't had a chance."

"Yeah. Mystique told me that Erik moved ya'll up here somewhere."

"Yeah. We're outside of New York City somewhere. That's all the boss will tell us."

"Too bad. Ah was planning on payin ya a visit," Rogue said seductively.

"Watch it, chére. You know what that tone of voice does to me."

"Why do you think Ah'm doing it?"

"You're evil, you know that?"

"No Ah'm not. Ah'm just all alone in the park. No one around for a pretty good distance. Nobody to overhear anything…" Rogue's voice trailed off and Remy could feel himself getting hard.

"Ya gotta stop that, chére. I gotta go back out into a room full of guys after this."

Rogue gave a soft laugh. Remy had always loved her laugh. "If Ah was there, Ah'd help ya with that, sugah, but Ah'm not into that kinda stuff over the phone."

"I better go before someone comes looking for me. I love you, Anna."

"Love you too, Rems."

* * *

**Okay. Here's CH. 3 and the end oof season 1. I'll start on season 2 as soon as I can, but it may be a while before I get it up, since I have college and soccer and workstudy and the riding team and everything. But your reviews motivate me to work faster. Hope you like it. Let me know what you think.**


	4. You Figure Out Where You Gotta Start

**A/N****: It's me with another story. This one is sorta AU. It starts before Rogue meets the X-Men.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"Ah'm tellin ya, Remy, Ah'm gonna go crazy around here."

"It can't be that bad, chére."

"Ya freeze one more thing, Iceboy and Ah'm gonna kick your ass!" Rogue yelled. "Sorry bout that, sugah. For some reason, they thought that Ah should baby-sit the fuckin new recruits."

"S' okay, chére. Don't really use that ear anyway." Rogue could hear the smile in Remy's voice.

"Well in that case…Damn it, Bobby, Ah'm serious! Remy, Ah gotta go before these kids destroy something of mine. Ah love ya."

"Love ya too, Anna. I'll call you later."

"Okay. Bye." Rogue hung up her cell and glared at the boy that had just frozen the kitchen floor. "Find a way to clean this up or Ah'm telling Logan that ya stole his booze."

"What?! I've never seen his booze." Bobby stared at her wide-eyed.

Rogue shrugged. "Who's he gonna believe? Me or you?"

"Fine." Bobby disappeared and Rogue went back to reading her book. A few minutes later, Jamie came into the room, slipped on the ice, and fell hard. Five more of him appeared on impact.

"You okay?" Rogue asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Sure." He pulled his clones back and looked at her. Rogue went back to reading, figuring that he's eventually go away. When that didn't happen, she looked up at him.

"Ya need something?"

"Can you tell Bobby to leave me alone?"

"What's he doing?"

"Him and Ray keep calling me names."

"Like?" Jamie just looked at his feet. "Fine. Tell them to come in here." Jamie smiled at her and ran out of the room. A second later, Bobby and Ray came into the room.

"Ah heard that ya'll were makin fun of Jamie."

"No." Bobby looked at Ray and Ray shook his head. "We wouldn't do that."

Rogue raised an eyebrow and Bobby's face fell. "If that's the story ya wanna stick with, fine, but leave him alone. Ah'm not in the mood to get in the middle of your fights. And ya already made me hang up on a very important conversation." Rogue nodded at the door and both boys left. She put her headphones on and started listening to a CD that Remy had burned of her favorite Jazz songs.

She used the quiet time to reflect on her thoughts. The New Recruits had shown up about four and a half months ago. Since then, they had been wreaking havoc on the mansion and its inhabitants. They had frozen the pool, destroyed the fountain, burned stuff, and electrocuted Wolverine.

Since the New recruit's arrival, Mystique had also appeared at school as Risty Wilde. It was definitely strange for your mother to be your best friend. But Rogue was thrilled because Mystique had recently arranged a meeting between herself, Rogue, and Magneto at his base. Rogue couldn't wait to go so she could see Remy again.

Without Mystique's guidance, the Brotherhood boys had attempted to out mutants a few weeks ago. Rogue and the X-Men had to fight them again. It still killed Rogue to fight "her" boys, especially Pietro. She had know him since they were young. But when Xavier told them to do something, they did it.

The school gym had caught on fire due to a flaming mascot. Lance had been knocked out in the fight. Kitty saved him, leading to her being out of the fight. Rogue had also been injured, but she hid it fairly well.

BOOM! A loud explosion caught Rogue's attention. "Tabitha! Quit blowin shit up!" she yelled. Tabitha had also been a recent development. She had joined the X-Men temporarily, but left after her father used her to steal money from a school carnival. She had joined the Brotherhood, but spent a lot of time at the mansion with Amara, her best friend.

Rogue closed her eyes to the soothing sound of Jazz. She went back to contemplating everything that had happened since she had joined the X-Men. Her thought traveled to the incident with Jean about three months ago. _Wouldn't have had to deal with it if the stupid bitch had just told Xavier that her powers were getting uncontrollable._

Jean had been struggling with her control for a few weeks. Whenever Xavier asked, she assured him that everything was fine. _Well, she proved that statement wrong._

It had been a typical day. Ms. Popular, a.k.a. Jean, had been given another award. Rogue had been completely ignoring everything going on in assembly in lieu of texting Remy. She glanced up when Jean's name was called for MVP of the soccer team. _Big surprise,_ she thought, going back to her text messaging.

Rogue sank down in her seat as Jean started talking. She tuned out the older redhead while she gave her acceptance speech. Rogue looked up when she heard Jean's voice trail off. The girl was still standing on the stage, but she had her head in her hands.

_Great. She's losing it. _Jean dropped her trophy and the head broke off of the soccer player. Jean quickly recovered, picking up the head and making a joke about it. Rogue snorted at the joke and went back to texting.

As soon as assembly was over, Rogue went to her next class. Her teacher really could care less what the students were doing since it was study hall in the library. Rogue sat at the computer in the corner and logged into her IM account. She double clicked on the name she was looking for and started typing.

_OleMiss87: Hey, Cajun._

_SouthernCharmer: Hey, chére._

_OleMiss87: Hope I'm not draggin you away from the bucket head's work._

_SouthernCharmer: Nope, not that Mags would notice. That helmet probably blocks out all sound._

_OleMiss87: You might be right. I'll have to ask Raven about that._

_SouthernCharmer: How're you doing with her plan?_

_OleMiss87: I'd probably be better if she didn't insist on me 'crushing' on Scott Summers. He's so far out of my taste that it's even a stretch for me to bullshit an interest._

_SouthernCharmer: Damn. He must be pretty bad. ;)_

_OleMiss87: Very funny, Remy. Keep up the smartass comments and I might just get rid of you and go after Summers._

_SouthernCharmer: Your loss, Anna. You know that I can do things that Summers can't even dream of._

_OleMiss87: True, but I'm starting to forget just what some of those things are. I feel like I haven't seen you in forever._

_SouthernCharmer: It's been about six months. I miss you everyday. But hopefully Ms. Bitch isn't lying and has actually set up a time for you to come to the base with her._

_OleMiss87: She probably is. You know how my mother is._

_SouthernCharmer: You've got a point. I hate to cut this short, but I've got to get to work. I love you, Anna._

_OleMiss87: Love you too, Rems._

_SouthernCharmer has logged out._

Rogue sat back in her chair and signed out of IM. She closed the window and started on her homework.

After school, Rogue went up to her room to do her homework and get ready for Duncan's party later that night. She chose an outfit that would drive her fiancé crazy if he could see it. She put on a navy skirt with a high slit, a black tank, shoulder length gloves, black thigh high boots, and a scarf. Rogue took some pictures of herself and e-mailed them to Remy.

"Anyone that needs a ride, I'm leaving now!" Scott called from the hall. Rogue glanced out the window to see him slip and fall on some ice, courtesy of Bobby. She laughed as he slid into the side of his car before yelling at Bobby and climbing into his car. Scott sped off in his sports car and Rogue went down to wait for Risty.

Risty picked Rogue up a few minutes later. "Hello, luv," she said as Rogue climbed into the car. Once they left the mansion grounds, Mystique changed her way of speaking.

"How are you tonight, Anna?"

"Better if Ah could see my damn boyfriend."

Mystique chuckled. "You'll see him eventually, dear. I can promise you that."

"Ah'm sure." Mystique raised an eyebrow, but stayed silent. Soon they arrived at Duncan's.

"Ready to party, luv?"

"Ah was born ready, Risty." Rogue led the way inside. She immediately grabbed a bottle of water and sat off to the side. Risty sat next to her.

Rogue could only stand it for about half an hour. The music was pumping and she wanted to dance. Suddenly, a commotion caught her attention. Scott ad Duncan were showing off in ping pong. Jean stopped their game and dragged Duncan off.

"Let's get out of here."

"You still like him don't you?"

"Who? Scott?" Rogue shot Mystique an evil look. "No." She dragged Risty out of the party and back to the car. "We can hide out at the Institute for a while."

Once they were in the car, Mystique morphed back into herself. Rogue glared at her. "What?" Mystique finally asked.

"What the hell kind of a question is that? Do you still like him? It's getting really hard to pretend."

"Forgive me for trying to make myself a believable person," Raven said sarcastically. "Why don't we make it easy for the X-Men to figure out who I am, shall we? Then let's see how they take our relationship, not to mention you fiancé. Oh and the fact that you can control your power."

Rogue glared at her but didn't respond. They drove to the mansion in silence. When they got there, Rogue invited Risty inside to give her a tour. They were just finishing the tour when they came back into the foyer to see a dripping Scott.

"I told you we shouldn't have left early. I knew we'd miss something." Risty said before the Professor escorted her out. Rogue rolled her eyes as he lectured her about unexpected guests. She retreated to her room after snapping at Jean for attempting to go into her head.

The next day, Jean had lost it. Rogue had ended up draining Jean slightly to help her. Then she had sat by and watched as Scott and Jean grew closer. She'd been a real bitch for a few days afterwards and everyone thought that it was because of Scott an Jean. Truthfully, she missed what she had down south with Remy.

A few days after the Jean thing, Kitty and Kurt had decided to throw a party while Storm, Logan, and the Professor were gone. It had ended with Risty getting a copy of Cerebro's files after Arcade hacked into the mainframe. The X-Men had also been chased by their own defense devices while he played with them.

The town had been shaken up after that by Hank McCoy, now known as Beast. He had been a Bayville High teacher until he started to mutate. Now he was blue, furry, and the Institute's med lab overseer.

After hank joined, Ororo and Scott disappeared at different times. Ororo had been kidnapped by some members of an African tribe that wanted her spirit. Scott had gotten lost at sea while hanging out with his brother in Hawaii. Both were now fine and at the Institute.

Rogue thought back to the most recent event. Avalanche had decided to join the X-Men. Rogue had laughed at him when she got a chance to talk to him after he moved in.

"Ya realize that this ain't like living with Mystique, right?"

"I know."

"Do you know how different it is?"

"Back off, Rogue. You can do it and you trained me."

"You mind keeping that quiet? The X-Men don't know that Ah was training for Mystique."

"Really. What else are you hiding from them?"

"Nothin that you need to know about."

"Fine," Avalanche relented. He could tell that Rogue was starting to get ticked and he remembered her wicked temper.

"Why do ya wanna be an X-Man anyway?"

"You know why."

"Jesus, Lance, just ask her out already."

Lance frowned at her. "It's not that simple."

"Wanna bet?" Rogue raised an eyebrow.

"No because you always win."

"I had a good teacher."

After a few training sessions, Lance was actually fitting in pretty nicely. That all changed when the New Recruits started joyriding the Institute's vehicles. Lance ended up taking the blame for the younger kids. Kitty was willing to stand up for him, but Lance quit anyway. He did get his kiss from Kitty before he left, though.

Rogue was drawn out of her thoughts by her phone ringing.

"Hello?"

"Anna?" Rogue frowned, wondering who it was.

"Yes?"

"It's good t' talk t' y' again. Seems like forever since I talked t' y'." The accent was one that Rogue easily placed. Cajun. The next step was figuring out which Cajun.

"Henri?"

"Y' got it in one guess."

"Not to be rude, but how'd ya get my number, sugah?"

"Who do y' think?"

"That fiancé of mine?"

"Oui. Y' know of anyone else that would have it?"

"Ah can think of a few people. How's Mercy?"

"She's bon. Missin y' and Remy since y' left."

"Ah miss her too."

"How's mon frère?"

"Honestly, Ah don't know."

"Y' didn't break up, did y'?"

"No, nothing like that. He's workin for my mother's boss an Ah don't know exactly where he is. Remy doesn't either. And my bitch of a mother won't tell me."

"Can't Remy tell y'?"

"He doesn't know either. Ah wish he did so Ah could go see him. Ah ain't seen him since Ah left Mississippi."

"Wow. That's gotta be hard for y', chére. Y' two spent almost every wakin moment together."

"Ah know. It's killin me to not know where he is and not be able to see him. If it wasn't for his calls, Ah'd wonder if he was dead."

"How often do y' talk?"

"Once or twice a week dependin on what his boss has him doin."

"M' guessin that y' and y' mere ain't getting along too well."

"Not worse than usual. She's a bitch about things, so Ah'm a bitch to her. Pretty much like it's always been. How long has it been since ya talked to Remy?"

"I talked t' him once since he left. Mercy hasn't talked to him at all. Pere is wonderin if he's alive."

"He's alive, ya can tell Jean Luc that much."

"He'll be happy to know that his youngest fils ain't dead."

"He better be or Ah'll come down there and kick his ass myself."

Henri's laughter echoed from he other end of the line. Rogue heard a feminine voice come over the line.

"Anna, chére? That you?"

"It's me, Merc."

"We miss y'."  
"Ah know. Henri told me."

"Is Remy there?"

"No. Ah don't know where he is."

"M' sorry, Anna. I know how close y' two are."

"Yeah. But Ah may get to see him pretty soon, unless my mother is lying."

"Hopefully she's not. Y' need to see the man y' love."

"Ah'm glad someone believes that."

"I've got to go. We miss y', Anna. Tell Remy to call m' when y' talk to him."

"Alright. Bye, Mercy."

* * *

**Okay, here's ch. 4. Hope you like it. Sorry for any typos.**


	5. The Scars Have Filled My Heart With Pain

**A/N****: It's me with another story. This one is sorta AU. It starts before Rogue meets the X-Men.**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Rogue had never been so happy that the holidays were over. It had been her first Christmas without Remy in several years. To make matters worse, she had been forced to spend it with Scott. There was nothing worse than spending Christmas Break on a mission with Scott in New York City. She didn't even get to see anything.

Rogue's break had started off bad anyway. Mystique had finally made good on the promised meeting, only for Rogue to find out that Remy had been sent on a two week mission the day before the meeting. So not only did she not get to see him, but he had been unable to take his phone, so she couldn't talk to him until after Christmas. Then everyone but Scott and her had plans to go home for the holidays.

The whole thing had started at the Christmas get together that Xavier had. Amara, Kitty, and Jubilee exchanged presents with Jean. Of course, this left Rogue out, not that she minded. She then had to watch her brother chase Kitty around with some mistletoe, trying to get a kiss. She saw Scott standing by himself and decided to give him the gift Mystique had bought for her to give him.

"It's sure gonna be lonely round here when all these guys leave tomorrow," Rogue started.

"Yeah. Really."

"But it could be fun, ya know. Just us, the Prof., Mr. McCoy. Hey, I got something for you. Ah know it's kinda early, but everyone else is exchanging gifts today."

"Oh, Rogue, thanks. Gee, I haven't gotten you anything yet. But,"

"Don't worry about it, there's still time. Go on and open it." Rogue stepped closer to Scott as he opened his gift. She saw a jealous look pass over Jean's face and smile to herself.

The next day, everyone left. After they were gone, Hank and the Professor went inside to upgrade Cerebro.

"I guess this is his idea of how to have a fun holiday," Scott said before they followed them inside.

They were sitting around the next day. The Professor was reading a paper while Rogue was boredly watching Scoot and Beast play chess.

"Be not forgetful to entertain strangers for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." Hank was notorious for his quotes.

"Shakespeare?" the Prof. questioned.

"The Bible."

"Ah, indeed. Although, I don't believe this angel is of the heavenly variety," The Professor said.

"What, you think he's some kind of demon?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, right," Rogue muttered from her spot in the armchair.

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Hank quoted.

"Now that's Shakespeare," Rogue said. She ha instantly recognized the quote.

"Mhm."

"No, Scott. I'm saying that if Cerebro weren't still being repaired, we would certainly have gotten some kind of reading on this angel by now. I fear his activities will alert the public to the existence of mutants. Someone should go to the city. Perhaps we could recruit him."

"Yeah, we could go," Rogue volunteered. "Ah mean, Scott and Ah. Ah'm goin nuts just sittin round here."

"Alright. Hank, could you compile a list of all the angel sightings with witnesses' addresses, that sort of thing. That should give these two somewhere to start."

"Yes!" Rogue was thrilled to be able to get out of the mansion. Later that day, they were in New York City questioning people. They decided to take a break when it started to get dark. They ended up in a little café.

"Mmm. This hits the spot. My hands are freezing," Scott said.

"This angel guy sounds pretty cool."

"Yeah, but I think the chances of finding him are pretty slim."

"Ah know but at least we got out of the Institute. Hey, let's do something fun while we're here, what do you say?"

"Okay, sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, Ah saw this cool music store on fifth avenue and you do still owe mw a gift."

"Okay, that'll do for starters, although shopping isn't exactly my idea of fun. Rogue,"

"Yes?"

"All of these people we talked to today, they really believe this angel is for real. Do you think, I mean, is it possible that…"

"Come on, you don't think… You do. Oh wow. Wow. Um, Scott, Ah'm sorry. Ah didn't mean…"

"Yeah, you're right. When I was a kid, after the plane crash, I thought I'd lost everything. My parents, my brother. I just couldn't deal with it, you know. So I believed for a long time that Alex must be out there somewhere with a guardian angel looking out for him. After a while, I finally grew up. But when we found Alex again after all these years, I kinda wonder if maybe somebody was looking out for us after all."

Rogue and Scott were at the record store when she overheard some girls talking about Angel. She elbowed Scott to get his attention. They looked at each other an decided to find out more about the Brooklyn bridge incident. They went over to the hospital where the little girl was to ask around.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid that you just missed her parents."

"Do you know where we can reach them? It's very important." Rogue said as convincingly as she could.

"I believe they said something about praying at their church."

Rogue turned around. She saw a tall blond man walking away. A feather dropped from his coat. "Scott, it's him."

He hurried away when he heard Rogue's call. They started chasing him. "Wait, we just want to talk to you." After hearing Scott, he started booking it through the hospital and flew out the first available window.

Scott and Rogue followed him to a church where they saw Magneto trying to kidnap Angel. Scot shot an optic beam at Magneto and hit him at the right angle to send him through a window. Without Magneto's powers, the chain around Angel left him unable to spread his wings and he started to fall.

"Scott, he's falling!" Scott fired another blast, breaking the chain and setting Warren's one wing free. It cushioned his landing slightly. They ran to him and helped him up.

"Are you alright? Hold still and I'll help you with that." Scot shot another beam. This one broke the chain completely.

"Now we know Magneto's still in business," Rogue commented.

"Who are you people?" Warren asked.

"You fools. Have you learned nothing?" Magneto began throwing metal objects at them in his rage.

"A simple thank you woulda been nice."

Warren tackled Magneto from behind. "Angel, let him go!" Scott called. He blasted Magneto again. Rogue took the fight into her own hands and ran to absorb him. He glared at her an pulled away.

Magneto took off and Rogue followed him. He used his powers to try to stop her and she used his powers to counteract his efforts. He got away once he blew up a sign with a gargoyle like piece of rock. A falling piece of rock caught Rogue in the head and she went into a freefall. Angel caught her just before she hit the ground.

When she came to, they were flying through New York's skyline. "Ah think you really are an angel."

Warren, Rogue, and Scott went back to the hospital.

"I hope she'll be alright. I didn't mean to,"

"You don't need to explain, Warren," Scott interrupted. "Listen, from what we've heard, a lot of people owe you their lives.

"Yeah, including me," Rogue chimed in.

"So this Xavier Institute of yours, what makes it any different from Magneto's pitch? I mean, suddenly it seems like everyone wants me to join their organization or something."

"No, it's not like that at all. Believe me, we're nothing like Magneto."

"Yeah, he's on a total power trip. We're just tryin to fit in and make good use of our abilities."

"But we've learned that we've got to be careful. Most people just aren't ready to deal with us yet."

"Yeah, tell me about it."

"And with Magneto still out there, you really should lie low for a while anyway. Just come with us and meet Professor Xavier. Check out what we do and see what you think."

The doctor came out and got the little girl's parent's. Warren followed them.

"Do ya think he'll come with us?"

"No." Scott followed him. They saw the little girl talking with her parents.

As if the holidays weren't bad enough, the time after them was always awful. They had to start back to school again an that was never a pleasant experience. An then there was always the pleasant experiences associated with being an X-Man.

Shortly after the whole Angel thing, Jean got taken control of by Mesmero. The evil looking telepath used her, Kitty, Kurt, and Evan to steal several precious rings from museums around the world. When thy confronted him, he disappeared.

About a month after Mesmero, the Sadie Hawkins Dance had happened. Rogue ended up going with Risty since Scott went with Taryn and there was a lack of interesting guys in Bayville. Of course, since the X-Men were there, something had to go wrong. Sure enough, one of Forge's wacky experiments let several demon like monsters loose as the dance was going on. The dance ended up being ruined for everyone as the non mutants ran from the creatures. The Brotherhood ended up helping the X-Men capture the things and Forge sent them back to their little dimension.

After that, Beast took several of the younger students on a camping trip. Since Rogue wasn't one of the students that went, she only got to hear the story. Some hunters had been convinced that Beast was Bigfoot. He was captured and the students had to help him get away. At least, that was the story that Rogue had gotten from Kitty, with many 'likes' and 'totallys' taken out during translation.

About two weeks after the trip, Jean decided to take the whole feminist thing a little too far. She ended up recruiting Tabby, Amara, Kitty, and Rogue to help her out. They became the Sirens, vigilante crime fighters in Bayville.

It all started when Tabby, Amara, ad Jean helped to stop a carjacking. Still on a rush form that, Rogue and Kitty joined them. They became lather clad crime fighters by night soon after. Rogue hadn't been a big fan of it, but she missed being out late at night doing anything. The mansion's curfew was starting to get to her.

Magneto had stolen the plans for Operation: Rebirth around this time, leading to a mission to stop him. The mission was obviously led by Wolverine, who had been a soldier during WWII when Rebirth was originally used. He had seen firsthand the effects that the Rebirth chamber would have on somebody. The X-Men were able to stop him and destroy the Rebirth chamber.

The most recent event was the return of one of Rogue's lifelong friends. Mystique had been working for some time to get to Magneto's daughter, Wanda. When she found a way, she took it.

Xavier had been working with Wanda on her mental health. The girl had so much uncontrolled anger that it was nearly impossible to deal with her without fearing for your life. Xavier was slowly helping her control these powers.

During a visit of Xavier's, a doctor came to get Wanda. Of course the 'doctor' was Mystique. She helped Wanda escape from the mental institutions where she had lived for ten years.

Mystique enlisted the services of an old friend, Agatha Harkness. The woman had been able to help Rogue gain control, and she was used to dealing with girls with attitudes.

As soon as Wanda set foot into the Brotherhood household, she tried to kill Pietro. Agatha had to quiet her before she hurt someone. Once Wanda had gained some control, Mystique decided to tell Rogue. As soon as Rogue found out, she was on her way to the Brotherhood house.

When she got there, she went straight in. She used to knock, but since Mystique was back, there was no reason. The boys wouldn't dare say anything to her. She spotted a black and red haired girl about her age.

"Wanda?" The girl looked up.

"Anna?"

"Yeah, but Ah go by Rogue now." Wanda jumped up to give her a hug.

"I haven't seen you in so long. You look so good."

"Thanks. Ya do too."

"Damn, that's on hell of an accent. Where did you grow up?"

"Mississippi with Irene Adler."

"I remember her. She was the blind lady that worked with my jackass father."

"Yeah. Ah miss her sometimes."

"Where are you living?"

"Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters. It's something my mother set up."

"Rival?"

"Pretty much. Ah was livin here for a while until she pissed me off."

"Doesn't take much if I remember right."

"Ah can think of someone that would agree with ya. Why don't we go some place where we can talk without worryin about other people overhearing?"

"Sure. We can go to my room."

"Alright." Rogue followed her upstairs to her room. Strangely, she led her into Mystique's room. "Isn't this my mother's room?"

"She doesn't live in here. She lives in the basement. So what don't you want the boys overhearing?"

"Ah don't even know where to start."

"Pick somewhere."

"Ah met someone down south. Ah'm actually engaged to him."

"Really? Wow."

"Yeah, Ah know."

"What does he think about you being a mutant?"

"Nothin cause he's one too. Oh my gawd, Wanda, he's got the most gorgeous eyes."

"Blue, green, brown?"

"Red on black."

"Unique."

"Yeah. He used to be hated because of them. And he's got an amazing body."

"You'll have to tell me a little more than vague things like this. Does he have a name?"

"Remy LeBeau. He's about 6'2" or 6'3", red brown hair, awesome eyes, chiseled body. Like Ah said, he's a mutant. He can kinetically charge inanimate objects and make them blow up."

"And where is this awesome guy?"

"Wherever the hell your father has him."

"My father kidnapped him?" Wanda looked shocked. Her father was a loon, but she didn't think he'd actually abduct anyone. It was easier to send someone else to do it.

"No, Remy works for him. He's an Acolyte, as you father calls them."

"Ah, so my father has a new team. Guess the Brotherhood wasn't good enough for the Master of Magnetism."

"Not bitter or anything are ya?" Rogue asked with a smile.

"You've known my father for years. That bastard has done so many things that he needs to pay for."

"Ah agree. Just don't kill him. Ah don't want to listen to Mystique bitch about having to find a new job."

"He deserves to die."

"So do a lot of people. Just trust me on this, he feels more remorse than you'd think."

"What makes you say that? And what is up with the gloves?"

"Ah've absorbed him a time or two ad he's not all bad. The gloves are because of my power. Ah have complete control, but no one at the Institute knows that. They all think that Ah'm struggling to control my curse of a mutation."

"You always were a good actress, sis." Wanda's nickname made her think back to when they were younger. They had spent so much time together, they had taken to calling each other sister. They had been so close before Magneto sent Wanda away.

"Ah'm not enough of a diva. Maybe Pietro would be a better actress." Wanda started laughing at this comment.

"He does seem to be a little concerned about looks and everything. Are you sure he's not gay."

"If he was, Ah woulda had an easier time livin here. That little jerk off hit on me on a daily basis." Rogue was interrupted by her phone ringing. She smiled at Wanda and answered it.

"Hey, Rem." Wanda perked an eyebrow in interest.

"Hey, amour."

"Sugah, Ah'm gonna put ya on speaker. Ah've got someone here ya should talk to."

"It's not Mystique is it?"

"No."

"Okay."

Rogue pressed the button. "Okay, Rem. Say hi to Wanda."

"Bonjour, Wanda."

"Anna, you didn't tell me he was Cajun."

"Anna? You know her by Anna?"

"Of course I do. I've known her since we were babies."

"What's your last name?"

"Maximoff."

"Merde. You're Magneto's daughter?"

"Yeah. I hear that you work for my psychotic father."

"Yeah. He offered me the job and Mystique told me not to turn the man down, so I took it. I also thought that I would get to see my chére more if I had a job up here. That was a dumb idea."

"I could have told you that."

"I've met the egomaniac son. Why haven't I ever met you?"

"Because my father locked my in an insane asylum ten years ago. I've just gotten out because of Mystique and I want to kill my father for the torment I went through in that hellhole."

Rogue glanced at her watch before looking at Wanda. "Ah hate to cut out, but Ah need to get back to the Institute. Xavier won't believe that Ah've been at the library for too much longer."

"Alright. I'll see you sometime."

"Bye."

"Nice talking to you, Wanda."

"You too, Remy."

The next day, the X-Men got sent to the mall to stop the Brotherhood. Rogue knew it was bad news as soon as Xavier mentioned it. Mystique was using Wanda, she could sense it.

While the other X-Men rushed head first into the fight, Rogue was more cautious. She knew what Wanda was capable of from the years they had known each other. There was no way that she was willing to get into a fight with Wanda. There was no possible way to win. She was just too powerful.

Rogue could hear several of the X-Men fighting with Brotherhood members in the different stores throughout the mall. She decided to help them out instead of scouting for the other Brotherhood member that the others didn't know about yet. The X-Men managed to flush the Brotherhood out of the stores and into the middle of the mall. Avalanche proceeded to mess with the waterfall while trying to fight the X-Men. The X-Men appeared to be winning when Wanda made her entrance. She messed with the other's powers. Scott couldn't turn off his blasts, Kitty got stuck phasing, Jean's telepathy was used in reverse on her.

Jean knew that they couldn't win. She convinced Scott to retreat. Defeat was something new to the X-Men. The Brotherhood had never been able to hold their own against their better trained counterparts.

* * *

**Ch 5 done. Next chapter is dun dun dun Day of Reckoning. What will happen when Rogue and Remy meet up again? Review and you'll find out faster.**


	6. Here You Are Just To Wash It All Away

**A/N****: The long awaited chapter is here!**

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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Rogue frowned when she heard the news: Wolverine was missing. The professor believed that Magneto had something to do with it, since Wolverine had been tracking Sabertooth when he disappeared from Cerebro's tracking. _Hope not. That bastard is still pissed at me for absorbing him._

Rogue finished pulling on her uniform and went down to the DR to get ready for training. They were running a simulation of an attack on Magneto. In addition to getting to their target, they had to avoid some paintball shooting drones that were orbiting the area.

Rogue and Roberto were among the first half of the team tagged out. "That is so lame. How does he expect us to survive in a session like that?" she questioned as she sank to the floor just outside of the DR.

"Yeah, well at least you lasted longer than we did. And I was just getting my frost up," Iceman complained for his spot on the floor.

Inside the DR, there was stuff blowing up as Scott tried to command the mission. Magma spotted the target. A drone came up behind her. She shot a fireball at the drone, but it just switched guns and fired. Kurt pushed her out of the way, allowing himself to be tagged.

Scott finally made the decision to rush 'Magneto'. Evan knocked a rock loose and Magneto self destructed. The drones surrounded the remaining X-Men and tagged them all out within a minute.

"I want to see you all in the planning room, now." Professor Xavier's command echoed through the DR and the room that Rogue was in. Once they had all assembled, the Professor began his rant.

"You rushed him, like you were going to take him by surprise."

"Professor, I…"

"Magneto is always two steps ahead, Scott. You will never take him by surprise. Ever."

"Excuse me, Professor, but what is going on? You've never driven us this hard."

"I had to see. I had to confirm my fears. It's clear that none of you are ready to face Magneto."

"I disagree."

"Do you? You couldn't even take care of the Brotherhood." Scott sulked at the Professor's words. The Professor looked at the New Recruits.

"You newer students, your inexperience would jeopardize the mission. I can't risk using you." He turned his attention back to the main X-Men. "As for the rest of you, I'm left with the need to bolster your ranks. Therefore, I'd like you to welcome your new teammates." A door slid open to reveal the Brotherhood.

"You want us to work with them?" Kurt cried.

"No way," Kitty added.

"This is a joke, right?" Rogue asked.

"Not a chance!" Evan added.

"Professor, you're not serious, are you? After what they did to us?" Kitty asked, walking toward him.

"Hey, we won, you lost. Get over it," Pietro said.

"Look, I know this will be difficult for some of you but, despite your personal feelings, we face tremendous odds going against Magneto. We will be a much stronger team with their help."

"Why are you guys volunteering for this anyway?" Evan demanded. "You don't like us any more than we like you."

"We've got our reasons," Pietro said.

"Yeah. Maybe it's be kind to losers week," Todd added.

"And from what I've seen, it looks like you people could use a new team leader." Avalanche advanced on Scott.

"Yeah?" Scott challenged, grabbing Lance by the collar. "Well, guess what, shakedown, you can have the job. I'm done with this." Scott stalked out of the planning room.

"Scott!" Jean called, ready to go after him.

"Jean, let him go."

"Let him go? Professor!"

"Time is of the essence. Right now, we must continue training while you resume your efforts on Cerebro. If we find Wolverine, we find Magneto."

Jean found Wolverine on Cerebro later that day ad both teams go suited up to leave.

"Everything is ready, Charles." Ororo reported.

"Good. Secure the hatch and prepare for takeoff."

"But, what about Scott?"

"He still hasn't returned. We can't wait for him any longer." He sensed Ororo's gaze on him. "Storm, you know as well as I do that if the boy has lost his confidence, he'd only be a liability."

"This is a mistake Charles, we need him."

"Velocity to X-Jet, all systems are go."

"Copy that. See you skyward."

The Velocity took off from its spot under the tennis courts. They met up with the X-Jet just after takeoff. Unknown to anyone in the air, the mansion was going into Defcon 4.

While the X-Men's extended team was flying to New York, Magneto landed there with his Acolytes. They were grateful to be able to get out of the metal transport orbs. They listened to Magneto's instructions and branched out to wait.

Once the X-Men landed, the teens spread out to check out the area. Storm and the Professor remained on the Velocity. They used a video camera to scan the area.

"Hmm. Magneto's here all right, and he's not alone."

"I should b out there with them."

"You will be, but let's first see what surprises are in store for us."

"Team two, you'll find some familiar looking orbs near the loading docks. Stay alert. Magneto brought friends."

"Understood."

"Team three, what's you status?"

"We're proceeding into the next sector," Beast answered.

"I can't help feeling like we're being watched." Kitty looked around until Todd's tongue appeared in front of her face. "Do you have to?"

"Sorry. Missed lunch."

"Empty. Man, I'm getting creeped out here. Where are they?" Lance asked as he came out of an old building.

Kurt teleported from one orb to the next to check them. When they were all empty, he gave a thumbs u[ to Jean.

"Confirmed. The orbs are empty," She reported back to Storm.

"Ya know, Ah don't get this."

"Yeah, they gotta know we're here," Evan agreed.

Kurt teleported over. "Now what? No sign of them."

Their talk was interrupted by a flaming ace of spades. Rogue recognized it immediately. The others watched it float toward the ground. "run," Jean yelled as it got closer. As soon as the card touched the ground, it erupted into a fiery explosion.

"Let's go."

"Finally, some action."

"You have no idea." Pietro sped away from the group.

"It's a trap!" Wanda yelled a second too late.

They all watched in fascination as the area before them was cleared of anything metal. Rogue kept watching for any sign of her red eyed Cajun. She spotted him when a metal silo flew apart.

Remy sat calmly alongside the other Acolytes. He grinned at the X-Men and started throwing cards at Hank. In an attempt to take him out, hank leapt at him, only to be taken down by Sabertooth.

Rogue watched as a large fire hand started chasing her teammates. _St. John._ She ran when it came after her. Ororo put it out with rain before it could touch her. The whether goddess turned her attention to the red haired boy manipulating the fire. A lightning bolt to his fire pack took him out of the fight.

Sabertooth and Hank continued to fight as Rogue went to find Remy. She turned off her powers as she crept through a walkway between the stacks of wooden crates. A shadow alerted her to Remy's presence around the corner. She stepped out from behind the crates to be greeted by a flaming card.

"Is that any way to greet me, sugah?"

"Anna?" Remy quickly extinguished the card. Rogue jumped into his arms and pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss. He returned the kiss as his arms wrapped tighter around her.

He put her down and pulled back to look at her. He gave her a suggestive smirk. "Never saw you as the spandex type, chére."

"Kiss my ass." Rogue shot back before kissing him again.

Remy's hands ran through her hair. "Y' know, Anna, I liked the long curls better."

"Ah did too, but this makes the Goth thing more believable. Did ya like the picture I sent ya?"

"Of course, chére. You looked tres belle. And I still think you look hot as a Goth."

Before she knew it, Remy had her back pressed against one of the shipping crates. She kissed him and wrapped her legs around his waist. Their hands began to roam as the kiss got more heated. Rogue could feel every part of Remy's body as he pressed against her. They made out for a good en minutes before stopping to catch their breath. Remy eased back and she slid into a standing position again.

"Gawd, Ah've missed you so much." Rogue leaned against his firm chest.

"I've missed you too, chére." Remy wrapped an arm around her kissed her hair.

They stayed like this for a minute before Remy pulled back.

"Remy? Somethin wrong, sugah?"

"I've got to go." He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Be careful, Anna. Magneto has something planned and I don't want you to get hurt."

"Ah'm always careful," Rogue replied with a cocky grin. Remy laughed and kissed her again.

"Call me tonight?"

"You bet." She turned to walk off. "Rem?" She looked back at him.

"Yeah, amour?"

"Why the brown eyes?"

"Contacts. Ain't exactly a good idea to be walkin round New York with my eyes."

"Oh. Talk to ya tonight."

"You too."

"Love you."

"Je t'aime aussi." With that final word, he jerked his head back toward the fight and Rogue ran just as he sent a card flying to where she had just been standing. After all, they couldn't make it too obvious, could they?

While Rogue was meeting up with her lover, the rest of the Acolytes were reeking havoc on the Brotherhood and X-Men. Piotr was fighting with Todd and Fred. Fred knocked him flat and Kitty phased him into a building. Lance brought the building down on top of the metal man.

Sabertooth, meanwhile, was trying to catch Beast. He succeeded in knocking him out, only to have Rogue absorb Beast and come after him.

"So long, harebrain."

Wanda was ignoring the fight behind her in favor of finding Magneto. As she looked, memories of being locked away played through her mind. Her rage grew as she finally located him.

Magneto got his Acolytes out of the way before making the ground tremble. Unknown to the X-Men, there was a large metal area underneath where they were fighting. Magneto caused this area to bottom out, dragging all the X-Men down into the dark cavern below.

"Uh oh." The X-Men looked up at Rogue's comment to see themselves surrounded by men with loaded weapons.

"Nobody move," Storm commanded.

"Who wants to move?"

"Hold your fire." The command was followed by a loud noise.

"Now what?"

"Sound like footsteps."

"Operatives, move out." All the uniformed men left the area. The X-Men were left to wonder what was going on. They didn't have to wonder long as a large robot crashed through the wall.

The X-Men were startled as the floor began to move beneath them. It rose up to be level with the ground. The Sentinel began to shoot it's arsenal at them.

The steadily backed away as the large robot advanced on them. It just shot the occasional weapon until Ororo attacked. After being struck with a lightning bolt, the Sentinel expanded even more. After that, the biggest task was escaping the gunfire.

The X-Men fought back to the best of their ability, but the Sentinel ended up capturing Rogue, Fred, Hank, and Evan in a green goo that quickly solidified. Rogue could see everything going on around her, but was unable to move. She watched the Sentinel blow up and fall and she saw the Velocity take off. She was soon loaded onto a truck along with the others.

They were hauled to Area 51 in Nevada. The green stuff was carefully removed and they were thrown into plastic cells. Rogue noticed that Logan had also been shipped to this place. They could only pray that someone would rescue them soon.

Rogue was placed into a cell next to Wolverine. The scientists left the lab after making sure that all the mutants were secure in their cells. Fred was still waiting in the big dome where they had been removing the green goop.

"Ya kids aright?" Logan asked loud enough for all of them to hear it.

"Yeah."

"We're fine. What about you?"

"I've been the guinea pig for some sick anti-mutant bastard for the last day. What do you think?"

"Is that why we're here?"

"Yeah, darlin. They needed test subjects and found out about mutants. How'd you get caught?"

"Magneto. That asshole led us right into a trap."

"Language, Stripes."

They grew quiet as people started coming back into the room. Some went back to work on Fred while a few others pulled Logan out of his cell and strapped him to a table. A man in a uniform began to question Wolverine.

"Who are you? Who are you working for?"

"What's it to you, bub?"

"Who was behind that robot? Did you build it? I want answers!" Logan lunged at the man. His restraints were the only thing keeping him on the table.

Alarms started to sound throughout the base. "Intruder alert, quadrant three!" Someone yelled from above her.

"Corporal, secure the holding area!" the man that had been questioning Wolverine ordered. Logan took the preoccupation of everyone to have Spyke set him lose. He flipped the table he had been strapped to and let Spyke loose.

"You get the others. I'll take care of the army." Spyke set Rogue and Beast free as Fred broke through the remaining green blob around him. Logan was busy fighting the soldiers that were filing into the area. Blob made short work of this by blocking off the entrance. They threw the soldiers into the hexagon that Blob had previously occupied.

Kurt and Mystique rushed in. "Bout time you got here elf. We were…What's she doing here?"

"It's, it's a little complicated. See,"

"He'll send you a memo. Now let's go, all of you!" Mystique took off running down the hall, followed by the others. They ran into Scott, Jean, and Lance. "Time to clear out. This way!"

"We've still got company," Lance announced.

"The bury them!" Lance went to follow orders when Scott grabbed him.

"Hey, wait!" Jean pushed the soldiers back so that they wouldn't be crushed by the falling debris. "Mystique!" Scott yelled.

They were almost out when another alarm sounded. "Security breech code red. Sealing all exits."

All the doors closed. This left them in a small area with no where to go and soldiers coming.

"Oh no, we're trapped!" Lace cried, looking around.

"Over here! There!" Bobby pointed to a ladder that undoubtedly led to the roof. They climbed out one by one. When Mystique got to the top of the ladder, Scott closed the grate on her.

"What are you doing? Out of my way!"

"Where is Professor X?"

"Are you insane? Let me pass or you'll never see him again." Mystique looked back as she heard guards running.

"Doors closing. You've got three seconds, lady."

"Let me through! You haven't got the…!" Mystique's sentence was cut off as Scott closed the door on her. He stood up, only for Lance to grab a hold of him.

"You lousy!"

"She got what she deserves!"

"Hey, guys! Come on! You can tear each other apart later."

"Oh, we will. I can guarantee it."

Storm came to pick them up in the Velocity and headed back to Bayville. The Brotherhood went home and the X-Men surveyed what was left of the Institute from Lookout Point.

"Now what? The Institute's gone, the Professor's missing, we can't go back to school, and it's open season on mutants."

"Well, look at the bright side," Kurt said. "No homework."

"Scott it's not your fault."

"Yeah right. Face it Jean, I blew it. I gambled and I lost. Without Mystique, there is no way to find the Professor."

"Hey, if you hadn't of done it, I would have," Logan told him. "We'll find him without her."

"But right now, we have a world out there to worry about. A world that fears us. Somehow we must teach them that we are the good guys before it's too late."

Rogue rolled her eyes and walked away from the group a little. She was having mixed feelings. She didn't know if mystique had any idea of what Magneto had planned. But she did know why she had wanted Rogue in the Institute. It was too easy for her to destroy the place.

Rogue was incredibly pissed at Scott, but she had to rely on her good acting skills. She couldn't let them know that Mystique meant anything to her. Even if she was a bitch, she was still her mother.

Rogue's next thought was about Remy. _Could he have known?_ She remembered his warning. _Magneto has something planned. _Did he know what the plans were? _he would have told me if he did._

As she thought about him, she realized something. _Shit. I was supposed to call him!_ She checked over her shoulder and moved deeper into the brush. She found a quiet spot about a quarter of a mile away from the other and sat down.

His phone rang a few times before he answered it. "Anna? You alright, chére?"

"Ah'm fine, no thanks to your damned boss."

"I'm sorry, chére. I didn't know what he had planned."

"It's fine, sugah. Just remind me to never get captured by the government again."

"Did they hurt you? I'll kill him if they,"

"No, Ah'm fine. Ah'm just looking at the Institute. Or where it used to be anyway."

"Used to be?"

"Mother blew it up."

"Merde. Anyone in it?"

"Scott and the New Recruits, but they got out. But that's not it."

"What else happened?"

"She's been imitating the Professor. She locked him away somewhere and, before we could find out where, our dumb ass leader left her in Area 51 in Nevada. So now we don't know where the Prof is and my mother is locked up in a government base where they do mutant testing."

"Shh. It's okay, chére. It'll be okay." Remy's attempts to soothe her made her miss him even more.

"Oh, sugah, Ah wish ya were here."

"I know, chére. But Magneto moved his base after today and it's now in Bayville, so we can meet up when we want."

"Thank gawd. Listen, Ah have to go. Ah don't know where we're staying tonight and Ah don't want them to leave me behind. Ah love you."

"Love you too, Anna."

"Talk to you later."

"Bye."

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**Okay. That finishes off season 2 and starts season 3. I was going to leave it at the end of Day of Reckoning, but it just wouldn't have worked right. I'm off to write the next chapter. Let me know what you think. Thanks reviewers.**


	7. And You Set Me Free

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

It had been several months since Rogue had been captured by Trask. The X-Men had been pardoned by the President and Trask had been dealt with.

Rogue leaned back and sighed. It was a weekend and she didn't feel like getting out of bed yet. Her thoughts were centered around a certain red-eyed mutant that she had seen several times since the Sentinel attack. It had made her life a lot better when she could see him more than once every six months like when they first joined their respective teams.

Rogue was definitely glad not to be sleeping in a cave like they had been forced to immediately after the Sentinel attack. It was just their luck that the government had found their hiding spot. They had ended up fleeing while Beast and Ororo attended a press conference in the defense of mutants. The X-Men's successful battle against the Juggernaut had been televised live during the debate, making the decision easier once the people realized that the X-Men were fighting the good fight.

They had found the Professor after the battle. Rogue had absorbed Cain to weaken him and gotten some information about the Professor's whereabouts and how he got there. It turned out that Mystique had trapped him in his brother's stasis tube and posed as him for a time.

Unfortunately, the pardon had allowed them to go back to school. There was only a few months left of the year, but every day was a struggle due to the ever increasing hostility toward mutants. The only one not recognized as a mutant had been Kurt because of his inducer.

Jean had been elected by Xavier to give a speech to the board about mutant attendance. During her speech, the Brotherhood had shown up with Duncan to start a fight. Their unwillingness to use their powers unless necessary left an impression on the members of the board. They had elected to let mutants attend Bayville High.

Rogue had also embarked on an adventure with Kitty. Remy had shown up at BHS to talk to Lance. Rogue had encountered him while trying to head off some guys that had been hassling Evan. It had been hard to hold back with her man in front of her. Kitty's arrival and Remy's disappearance made it easier. They had decided that he was up to something.

Rogue and Kitty followed him to the Brotherhood house. He disappeared after talking to the boys. They had left in Lance's Jeep soon after. Rogue and Kitty followed them, jumping from vehicle to vehicle as needed. They had ended up in the middle of nowhere defending some soldiers from the Brotherhood boys as they tried to get Pietro. Kitty and Rogue had been given detention for their trouble.

Scott had also been left in the middle of the Mexican desert without his glasses or visor by Mystique after she escaped from Area 51. He ha gotten a call from Alex, who turned out to be the shape shifter, and gone down to Mexico. Mystique knocked him out and left him to fend for himself in the desert. He had ended up in a Mexico City hospital. He left after shooting a blast through the ceiling. Jean had ended up finding him and bringing him home.

Evan had left recently. He had been in a skate competition when he rank some Power8. It had made him incredibly sick because it was poisonous to mutants. The Morlocks helped him and in return, he helped them destroy the Power8 factory. His mutation started to evolve into bony plates that covered parts of his body. He decided that he would be better off staying underground with the Morlocks.

Kurt had finally met his girlfriend's parents. While at their house for dinner, Todd had broken in and stolen his image inducer. Amanda's parents had freaked when they realized that their daughter's boyfriend was a fuzzy blue mutant. She had been banned from seeing him again.

Todd had stolen the image inducer after Wanda told him that he would have to be someone else for her to be interested in him. He had ended up getting Kurt's help to rescue her from Magneto. Todd had also gotten a kiss from her when disguised as Eric, a ski instructor. Magneto had Mastermind wipe all of Wanda's bad memories about him from her mind.

Rogue got out of bed when she heard a tapping on her door. Kitty was already up and gone for the day. She pulled back the curtains and smiled. Remy was standing on the balcony with a single rose.

"Are ya lost, Swamp Rat?"

"Maybe. Have ya seen a belle femme named Anna round here?"

"Not that Ah recall. Can Ah give her a message if Ah see her?"

"Tell her that her amour stopped by to see if she wanted to get outta this place for the day."

Rogue smiled at him. "Ya kiddin, right?"

"Do I look like I'm kiddin, chére?" Remy asked with a straight face.

"Give me fifteen minutes." Remy followed Rogue back into her room. He laid on her bed and watched her get ready. Rogue had no reservations about changing in front of him. It wasn't anything he hadn't seen before. She pulled a pair of tight jeans on and looked at him. "Where're we goin?"

Remy shrugged and studied the ceiling from his spot on her bed. "Dunno. Was thinking bout goin to New York, but didn't know if you'd like bein in a city where ya don't have to worry bout runnin into anyone ya know. No worry bout someone seein ya touchin anyone. No worry bout dressin to hide from touch."

"Sounds good, sugah." Rogue pulled her favorite tee over her head. It was black with the phrase 'Southern Pride' in red, white, and blue glitter across the front. Remy had bought it for her the previous year in Mississippi.

Remy looked over at her as she pulled on a black skull hoodie. "Got to keep up appearances, chére?"

"Yeah. Ah don't need Xavier to find out about me."

"Too bad. Ya looked hot in the shirt." Rogue rolled her eyes and nodded toward the balcony.

"Ah'll meet ya out front." Remy bowed and went back onto the balcony. Rogue shut the doors and went downstairs to leave.

"Good morning, Rogue."

"Mornin." She kept walking past the Professor. "Ah'm goin to spend the ay with an old friend that's in town. Is that alright?"

"Quite, Rogue. Have fun and be back before curfew." Rogue nodded and went outside to meet up with Remy. The climbed on his bike an drove into New York City.

The two of them spent the day doing whatever they felt like. They played the part of tourists and enjoyed each other's company. They decided to end the day with a picnic in Central Park.

The next morning, Rogue woke up in a good mood. There wasn't any training, so she convinced Scott to play a game of racquetball.

"Whew, you whooped me good," Scott said after missing the final ball. Rogue gave him a hand up.

"Want a rematch tomorrow night?"

"Tomorrow? Oh, sorry. That's the concert."

"Oh, right. So, are you going with anyone?"

"Yeah. With, uh, Jean. What about you?"

"Nah. Ah'm not really a fan of the Disconso Rivets."

"We'll play next week then?"

"Sure, next week." Rogue shut the door as Scott left. She had a flashback of Jean's memories and sank to the floor with her head in her hands.

When her headache had subsided a little, she got up to play racquetball by herself. She was doing fine when she had a flashback of Fred. She hit the ball hard enough to embed it in the wall. She unknowingly threw the racquet with the same amount of strength. It embedded itself in the wall. She fell to her knees, trying to clear her head.

Rogue had just finished getting ready to leave when another flashback popped into her head. This one was decidedly less severe and she looked at her hands before pulling her gloves on. She opened the door to find Logan about to knock.

"Rogue."

"Logan. Is something wrong?"

"That's kinda what I was wondering." He pulled the destroyed racquet from behind his back. "This look familiar?"

"Well…" Rogue started to respond before Kitty grabbed her arm and pulled her down the hallway.

"Come on. Jean's gonna give us a ride to school in her new SUV." Rogue waved as Kitty pulled her around the corner.

"All right. Hey, Jean, now that you've got wheels, how about carpooling to the concert tonight?" Kitty asked as she buckled her seatbelt.

"Oh, well, um, I'm kinda going with , um, with Scott."

"No problem, he won't mind unless it's some kind of… Whoa. It's a date, isn't it?"

"No it isn't."

"You guys are actually going out."

Kurt teleported in at that exact moment. "Who's going out?"

"Jean and Scott. Can you believe it?"

"No way. Really? It's about time."

"Jean's got a date," Kitty taunted. Her and Kurt started laughing.

"I do not."

"Will you guys drop it already?" The car got very quiet after Rogue's comment. They were silent for the rest of the ride to school. Rogue headed toward the bathroom before her first class. She had a flashback of Kitty's memories just as she reached for the door, causing her to phase through it.

"Rogue!" Risty looked excited to see her friend again. "There you are. I was looking all over for you."

"Risty? Where've you been? You totally disappeared." Rogue hadn't been expecting Mystique to show up again after the Area 51 incidents.

"Stuck in England. My parents wouldn't let me come back here with all the fuss and everything. I finally talked them into it." They walked back out into the crowded hallway. "Rogue, I am so sorry I wasn't here for you."

"It's no big deal. But Ah'm the one who should feel bad. Ah mean, here we are friends and Ah was hiding who Ah really was from ya." Rogue bent over to get a drink when a Storm flashback ran through her head. She accidentally caused lightning to strike the water fountain.

"Rogue, are you alright?"

"Ah, Ah don't know." Rogue ran outside and sat on a picnic table away from everyone. She needed to think. This had never happened to her before.

Risty sat next to her. "Were those your powers?"

"No. Yes. Ah mean sorta. It's hard to explain."

"You know, it's okay. I understand if you don't want to talk about it." She got up to leave.

"No, wait. Ah do. Um, well." Rogue slipped off a glove and haled her hand near Risty's face. "If Ah were to touch you right now, Ah'd probably put you in a coma. Your life force, your memories, everything about you would flow into me."

"That's freaky."

"Yeah it is," Rogue agreed, putting her glove back on. "And worse, everyone Ah've touched stays inside of me. It's getting a little crowded."

"How bout we go laugh at the geeks at the concert tonight, huh? Come on, it'll be fun."

"Risty, Ah've kinda missed havin you around."

Rogue let Risty drag her to the concert later that night. She knew it was a bad idea as soon as she was around everyone with her powers switched on. Rogue was winding her way through the crowd when she saw Scott and Jean. Seeing them mad her flashback to when she absorbed Scott. Risty noticed this and misunderstood it.

"You still have a thing for him, don't you?" Rogue sent her a warning glare.

"What? No way. Ah mean Scott an Jean are practically a couple."

"Really? Well, they deserve each other." Rogue couldn't agree more. "And you, my girl can do better." _Like Remy_ went without saying.

"Ah think this was a mistake. Ah don't do well in crowds. Ah can't even move."

"Oh, relax. You're covered up enough."

Rogue continued to have flashbacks as the ban played. A sleeve ended up being ripped off the mesh over shirt she wore. She ended up touching several people. Mystique finally overloaded her mind and she lost it.

Rogue morphed into Sabertooth and started to reek havoc on the concert. She smashed several speakers ad amps in addition to nearly killing a few people. She ended up scaring everyone but the X-Men out of the concert hall. Scott smashed her into a wall, bringing part of it down on top of her.

Rogue morphed into the Juggernaut. She threw Kurt off as she came out of the rubble. She ran across the stadium and through a wall to escape. Mystique followed her.

Rogue morphed into Magneto next. She used his powers to get cop cars away from her. She then morphed into Pietro and ran for it. She morphed again, this time into Arcade, just in time to escape the police car that was coming her way.

Rogue soon found herself in a dark alley. She morphed back into herself and sank down against the wall. She buried her head against her knees an started to cry.

"Rogue, are you alright?"

"Get away from me."

"Please listen. I know I've hurt you but I only posed as your friend so I could be near you."

Rogue morphed into Mystique. "Liar! I know the truth. You used me to spy on the X-Men."

"No, it's not that simple. Please don't do this. If you have my memories, than you know what our relationship is."

Rogue morphed back into herself. "Ah don't know anything!"

"Admit the truth, Rogue. I adopted you when you were four."

"No."

"Search the memories. You are my daughter." Rogue took off running again. "Rogue!" Mystique started to chase her, but the teen was faster. Mystique stopped and pulled out her phone. "Remy, you might want to get over here. Rogue's losing it. She needs your help."

"I know."

Rogue started crying again and teleported herself to an empty rooftop. Or at least she thought it was an empty rooftop.

"Anna? Chére? Ya need to calm down." Rogue looked up to see Remy moving toward her.

"Rem. Stay back. Ah don't know what power will kick in."

"Just listen to me, chére. Turn your powers off." Rogue closed her eyes and concentrated.

"Okay. They're off." Remy sat next to her/

"Look at me, chére." Rogue looked into his eyes. She could feel herself calming down. The voices were fading slowly. "That's it, Anna. You're fine, amour."

Rogue looked at him until she was completely calm and had her powers back under control. She leaned heavily against him. "Thank ya so much, sugah. Ah don't know what happened. Ah was fine and listenin to the concert one second and the next, Ah'm in an alley with mother."

"You just let your blocks down a little too much. I know that ya won't want to do this, but ya gotta act like nothing's happened. Pretend like you're still losing it or they'll know that something's up. Can ya do that for me?"

"Ah think so." Rogue heard a motorcycle coming an let Sabertooth take over a little. "Wolverine."

Rogue tackled him off of his motorcycle. Wolverine rolled when he hit the ground and came up fighting. He knocked a light pole down before figuring out that it wasn't Sabertooth. The rest of the X-Men showed up to the sight of Sabertooth swinging the pole at Wolverine. Scott sent him through a wall before Logan could explain.

"Rogue? Are you in here?" Scott called from inside the building. "It's me. Tell me what's happening. We're here to help you."

"Hey big shot, better help yourself." Scott was shot by an optic blast from Rogue disguised as himself. He flew across the warehouse to land by Logan's feet.

"Ah. That hurts more than I thought." Scott held his side where Rogue shot him and Logan helped him to his feet.

"She's shape shifting. She could be anybody." Suddenly the ground began to move.

"Like Avalanche?" Scott questioned.

Rogue brought down a shelf before shifting back into herself. "Help me."

"We will, Rogue. Just stay calm."

"We're your friends."

"Ah have no friends." Rogue morphed into Storm and started shooting lightning. She threw Logan and Scott through a wall before blowing the roof off of the building to escape. She morphed back into herself and began to shoot optic beams in addition to keeping Storm's power active.

The X-Men battle with Rogue for several minutes before subduing her enough to bring back to the ground. She multiplied as she faced off against Logan.

"Rogue, I know what it's like for nothing to make sense in your head. I've been there." Rogue used Magneto's powers against Logan to hold him before shooting him with an optic blast that knocked him back a good distance.

"Listen to me, kid. The others inside you, you're letting them push you around. The Rogue I know wouldn't take that off of anybody." Rogue reabsorbed the clones. "That's right. Stand up to them."

"Logan, there's too many of them."

_Stop resisting me, Rogue. Help me. We can wipe out those personalities together, one by one._

"Rogue, come on. You can do this." Rogue transformed into each of the personalities as the Professor erased them. She was careful to keep her blocks in place so that he didn't find out her true motives. She collapse from the strain of everything as soon as he was done.

"She's going to b okay, right Charles? Charles?"

"I, I don't know yet."

The X-Men followed Logan, who was carrying Rogue to the X-Van. Mystique and Remy watched from a nearby rooftop.

"She'll be okay, Raven?"

Mystique nodded. "She'll be fine. She just needs rest."

Logan waited by Rogue's bed from the minute that she was put in the med bay. The Professor sat watching over them both.

"How long's he been in there?" Scott asked.

"He's never left her side."

"But she is recovering, right?"

"Yes, slowly. However, having all those personalities driven out has left her very fragile and her toughest challenge still awaits her- coming to terms with who Risty really was and who Mystique really is."

In the room, Logan sat in a chair by Rogue's bed. He was waiting for her to wake up. "I won't lie to ya, kid. Getting over this ain't gonna be easy. Something about betrayal always sticks with you. Trust me, you learn to deal with it. You move on and you let your real friends be there for you."

Logan looked up in surprise as Rogue's hand tightened around his own gloved hand. She gave him a small smile and turned her powers on in case anyone accidentally touched her. Logan returned her smile and they sat in silence until she drifted back off to sleep.

* * *

**Okay, now we've gone up through Self Possessed. I'm planning on finishing off season three with the next chapter. This fic won't end with Ascension, I can already tell you that. Sorry it took me so long to put his up. I've been busy and finals are coming up.**


	8. Every Day Is Like A Walk In The Park Now

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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Rogue had been going crazy in the med bay. The other X-Men had gone on a recent mission involving Magneto and all she knew was that Remy had somehow been involved. He had told what little bit he could remember that spawned the mission, but their phone time was restricted to late night when the med bay was empty.

Rogue had finally gotten out of the med bay when the mansion had been attacked by a crazed teen looking for Wolverine. She had torn the place apart. She had also knocked out all the inhabitants to get back at Wolverine.

Rogue was sitting in the gazebo, waiting for Remy. They had been meeting here for a few weeks when they wanted to spend time together. The gazebo was never used, except by Rogue, and far enough from the mansion that they didn't have to worry about anyone finding them.

Rogue's phone rang as she looked out over the cliff. _Damn it mother. What could you possibly want right now?_

"Hello?"

"Anna, dear, good to talk to you again."

"Ah'm sure. Ya need something?"

"Is this a bad time?"

"No, Ah'm just waiting for Remy. He's still got about ten minutes."

"Good. I need you to do something for me."

"Why else would you call?"

"To talk to my only daughter."

"Keep telling yourself that. What do you want me to do?"

"There is a mutant by the name of Mesmero that I have made a deal with."

"Isn't Mesmero the one that screwed with Remy's head the other month?"

"Yes."

"Ah'm not letting anyone in my head."

"Let me finish. I've made a deal with him. Mesmero is working for a very powerful mutant named Apocalypse. I have agreed to help Mesmero free Apocalypse under the pretense that you, Kurt, Remy, and I will be safe from harm after his release."

Rogue felt arms wrap around her and she leaned into the embrace "Whatever. Ah've got to go. Remy's here. Can ya call me back later?"

"Sure."

"Bye." Rogue put her phone in her pocket and turned to her fiancé.

"That important, chére?"

"It was just my mother. But Ah can deal with her later." Rogue leaned up to kiss Remy. "Ah love my life," she mumbled when they pulled away.

Rogue found out Mystique's plan when she called back a few hours later.

"I want you to absorb every member of the X-Men, Brotherhood, and the Acolytes."

"Fine. Any certain time frame?"

"Absorb the X-Men tonight. I'll let you know when to take care of the others."

"Fine."

That night, Rogue silently snuck around the mansion. She absorbed the Professor first, since he might figure out if something was up. She then absorbed the others.

Rogue took her time the next morning. They were already running late anyway. "What a bizarre dream," she commented as she wiped off the steamy bathroom mirror. "Ah think Ah need some therapy." She had dreamt about Remy getting Belladonna pregnant even though the girl was dead.

She dressed in black track pants, a black tank, and a green hoodie before going downstairs. "Ah think Ah'm gonna pass on breakfast." The kitchen was a zoo that she didn't feel like dealing with.

Logan drove them to school in the X-Van. Everyone else ran for the door, but Rogue took her time. She wasn't in any hurry. A limo pulled up to the curb and Rogue changed directions. This was her ride.

"Mornin, mother."

"Morning, Anna. Did you do your job last night?"

"Yeah. What do ya want now?"

"If you have a problem with the way I am handling this, I can get Mesmero to control your mind."

"No thanks."

Rogue got out as they pulled up to the Brotherhood house. Mystique let out a low growl at the sight of what the boys were doing to her house. Rogue ignored it and went inside. She absorbed all of the Brotherhood members quickly and fairly quietly. She climbed back into the limo and Mystique ordered the driver to take her back to the Institute.

Later that night, Mystique came to pick her up. Rogue met her at the gate and climbed into the car.

"Ya think ya could've been early? In case ya haven't noticed, it's fuckin raining." Rogue glared at her mother as water dripped from her hair.

Mystique laughed, causing rogue's glare to become more severe. "I noticed, believe me. A little rain won't do you in."

Rogue sulked for the drive to the Acolyte base. Once they got there, she looked around. It was a plain looking warehouse. "The window." Mystique nodded and Rogue absorbed her. _Serves ya right, bitch._

Rogue morphed into a bird and flew in the window. She quickly hid and watched as Colossus walked by. At the right moment, she touched him. He dropped the crate he was carrying and she focused on Fred's power to protect herself.

Sabertooth jumped out from behind a crate and attempted to tackle her. She made short work of the large feline. She morphed her arm into metal form to withstand his sharp claws.

Pyro was the next attacker. She noticed the glint of a flame on her hand and turned to see the slightly older boy ready to fight. "Awful bold of you coming here girl. Or are you just stupid?" He cackled maniacally as she was engulfed in flames. Rogue morphed her whole body to metal to avoid being burned severely. Her pants were burned into shorts and her shirt was burned off across her midriff when she emerged from the flames to absorb Pyro.

Rogue turned when she heard clapping and fought to avoid smiling at the sexy Cajun. "Bravo, chére. Looks to me like Rogue's up to no good. But hey, I like that in a girl." He smirked at her and pointed his bo staff into her chest.

Rogue knocked the staff aside and morphed back into her normal form. Remy eyed her lean body appreciatively before slowly backing away, keeping the staff in between them. He knew what she was up to and needed to put up a fight.

"Only thing is, you're not alone in this, are you? Who's behind it? Mystique?" He jumped onto some crates to avoid her. "I think so. Question is, why?" Rogue used Jean's TK to pull him off the crate and slam him into a wall. He landed on the floor and Rogue immediately jumped on him.

"See if you can guess." She reached for his face, but he threw her off. Remy was instantly on his feet looking around for her. He found her when he turned, only for her lips to meet his in a soft, quick kiss.

Rogue used Mystique's powers once more when she heard Magneto coming. She morphed into Remy and laid on the ground. When Magneto came near, she jumped up and absorbed him before fleeing the scene. He'd be mad when he woke up.

The next day was the Bayville High graduation ceremony. All the kids at the Institute were up early because Jean and Scott were graduating. Rogue followed the others out to the cars, wishing it was her graduation.

Scott and Jean sat down on the football field with the other seniors. The remaining X-Men were sitting in the bleachers with Professor Xavier, Storm, and Beast. All was going well until Magneto interrupted the ceremony. Everyone started to run as the Master of Magnetism floated over the field. His Acolytes and Brotherhood were right there with him.

Rogue attempted to sneak away, but Pietro grabbed her. He put her down in front of the group and waited. Rogue picked up the metal chairs and started moving them around in a circle.

"Magneto, explain yourself."

"The girl is under Mesmero's control, Charles. She attacked us to absorb our powers then wiped our minds with his powers to cover it up."

"What proof do you have?"

"My surveillance cameras. They captured it all." Tired of listening to the two fight, Rogue lifted into the air. She threw the chairs at the other mutants ad flew off.

"Logan, track Rogue," the professor ordered.

"Got it."

"You two, go with him." Remy hid a grin at Magneto's request. He definitely wanted to find her.

"No. I don't need their help," Logan snarled while looking at Sabretooth.

"Logan, you two must put it aside. There's too much at stake." Remy smirked as Logan and Creed growled at each other.

They all got on their motorcycles and took off. Remy stayed behind the other two and watched as they raced. "Well, this is gonna be interesting."

Rogue meanwhile was with Mystique. They had gotten a head start on the others and were on their way to the airport.

"So, my dear, did you get any interesting information from the X-Men you absorbed?"

Rogue glared at her. "Ah know that ya had an affair with Logan and that Remy has a long list of fantasies involving me. But Ah already knew that."

Mystique made a face at her daughter's proclamation. She preferred not to think about her daughter and Remy's fantasies. "Let me rephrase that. Did you get any useful information?"

"Not really. Scott thinks about Jean way too much, Kitty's in love with Lance, Kurt's dating a human, the professor has a thing for Storm, Beast has a thing for Storm, Storm has a thing for Logan, and Logan drinks way too much. Any of that useful to ya?"

"Not any more useful than they are to you."

Rogue looked out the window. "So where are we goin anyway?"

"Tibet."

"Are ya out of your fuckin mind?! Do you have any idea how cold it is there this time of year? Ah can't even stand the cold in New York, let alone in the mountains."

"Sorry, Anna, but this is all a art of the plan. We must meet Mesmero in Tibet. But first, we must steal a plane to get there."

The limo pulled up at the airport and Rogue and Mystique got out. Rogue distracted the guys in the tower while Raven knocked them out. They stole a small plane that either of them could fly and took off. Rogue noticed Remy breaking up a fight between Logan and Creed just as they took off.

"Ah hope this plane is fast, Mama."

"Why's that, Anna?"

"Creed and Logan are right outside the airport with Remy."

"Relax. Those two will spent so much time fighting that we'll be in Tibet before they leave the airport."

Raven hit a button and the plane picked up speed.

"How did ya do that?"

"This is no ordinary plane. This is my personal plane. I have had it equipped with the most advanced flight technology available. It is almost as fast as Xavier's precious X-Jet."

In a matter of a few hours, Mystique landed the plane in Tibet. They met up with Mesmero and he started to lead them to Apocalypse's tomb.

They were only partway to the tomb when Mesmero stopped and looked behind him. Rogue noticed Logan, Creed, and Remy a good distance back. They suddenly dropped to their knees, clutching their heads. Mesmero turned back to Mystique and Rogue and hurried them along.

They climbed to a ledge not too far from the peak of the mountain. Mesmero led them into a cave. There was a wall in front of them with a large carving of a beetle on it. Rogue noticed that the door of the cave closed as soon as they were through it.

"The day has finally come, great Apocalypse. I now deliver the final key, the shape shifting mutant, Mystique."

Mystique stepped back at Mesmero's announcement. Rogue looked at her in surprise. Mystique had a shocked look on her face. Her surprise faded to anger quickly.

"What do you mean I'm the key? You told me Rogue was."

"You are both needed in order for Apocalypse to cross this threshold."

Mystique grabbed Mesmero by his cloak. "Listen, circus freak, I agreed to bring Rogue here because I was assured that our futures would be secure. Were you lying then, too?"

"Apocalypse will not forget those who are loyal."

"Why didn't you just enslave me like you did her?"

Mesmero chuckled before responding. "I was unable. Your powers of control are formidable."

"I'd advise you to remember that. Now, what is needed of me?"

"Upon entering through there," Mesmero pointed to a small diamond shaped hole, "you will find the engraved sign of Apocalypse. Place your hand on it and the door will open."

Mystique glanced at the hole and the tattooed man in front of her. Then she glanced at Rogue, who wasn't paying attention. She finally glanced at the hole again and morphed into a cobra before slithering through.

Rogue heard some noise and a scream before the door opened. Her eyes widened when she saw Mystique standing before her, completely encased in stone. She quickly averted her eyes, not wanting to look t her mother in such a state. Mesmero nodded to her and she looked straight ahead as she walked past Mystique.

Rogue came to a staircase lined by cave formations. At the bottom was a rounded stone surrounded by a green light. She hesitated slightly before starting her descent.

Rogue heard an explosion behind her. _Please, Remy, don't do anything dumb._ She kept walking slowly toward the rounded object, wanting to know what it was.

Rogue ignored the sounds of a battle behind her. She drew closer to the object. When she was near it, she noticed that there were engravings all over it. She noticed a spider engraving on top. Curious, Rogue pulled off a glove and touched the spider. It started to glow as the object opened.

Rogue saw what looked like an old man lying in the middle of the object. _This must be Apocalypse. _As she stared at him, his eyes began to flicker open. Rogue heard a large crash and looked toward the staircase. In her moment of preoccupation, Apocalypse grabbed her still bare hand. Rogue had the unpleasant sensation of all the psyches she had collected being forcefully pulled from her body.

When he finally let go, Rogue collapsed to the ground. Her head was swimming and she felt weak all over. She squeezed her eyes shut to block out everything while she sorted out her mind. She was vaguely aware of Logan picking her up off the ground.

She saw a bright flash from behind closed eyelids. _Ah guess Apocalypse is up._ She felt Logan put her back on the ground. His telltale growl let her know that he was making an attempt to go after the more powerful mutant. She heard a thud as Logan's body connected with the ground.

Rogue was aware of something going on. She could hear sounds, but refused to open her eyes. She blocked out the world, trying to find something to focus on to get her mind back in order. Remy's face floated through her mind and she had an idea. Rogue focused on Remy with everything in her.

Her focus was so intent that she didn't notice when the other X-Men and the Acolytes arrived. Her whole being was focusing on righting the thoughts swirling through her head. She was finally getting order back when she heard a loud clap. It made her thoughts stray for a second and all of her work began to fall apart.

Rogue quickly refocused her thoughts. She had just gotten the order back in her mind when she felt a hand gently stroke her hair.

"Chére, can you hear me?" Rogue opened her eyes to see concern swirling through the red on black eyes of her fiancé. "You okay?"

"Ah think so, swamp rat."

"Do you know what happened?"

"Apocalypse took all the psyches. It was like absorbing someone but in reverse."

"It's okay, chére. That bastard will pay."

Rogue was about to respond when Logan came over.

"You okay, Stripes?"

"Ah'm fine, Ah think."

"Gumbo, get your hands offa her."

Remy glared at Logan but was quickly distracted when Rogue tried to get up. He grabbed her arm to support her. She stood up and he let go and stepped back. Rogue offered him a small smile. She tried to turn around and fell. Logan caught her and picked her up.

"I got ya, darlin. Let's get you back to the jet and have Hank check ya out."

The X-Men got back to the mansion and Rogue was immediately taken to the med lab. Hank ordered her to stay overnight for observation.

Two weeks later, Rogue was finally allowed to leave the med lab. Hank had wanted to keep an eye on her, so she had been forced to sleep where he could check on her. She had been allowed to leave for a few hours at a time during the day, but only if supervised.

Rogue was genuinely glad when some of the kids left on a cruise the week after she had gotten out. She was the only one of the original students left at the Institute for the next two weeks. Even Tabitha, Amara, Jamie, and Bobby had gone. Logan took off for a while since the kids were gone, leaving the Professor and Hank in charge of the remaining students. Rogue used this to her advantage and snuck out frequently to see Remy.

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**Here's the end of season 3. There'll probably be two more chaoters to finish off the episodes before I start the post Ascension part of the story. Sorry it took me so long to get this up. The end of the semster was crazy. I'm on break now, so I'm hoping ot get a few chapters posted before I go back to being a college student in January. Let me know how you like it.**


	9. And I'm Feeling Like I'm So Brand New

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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Rogue looked around her room. She was bored. She couldn't even sneak out to hang out with Remy. He had left the week before for a mission. _Maybe Ah'll just call him._

She picked up her phone and dialed the familiar number. It rang four times before someone answered.

"'Lo?" a tired sounding voice answered.

"Remy?"

"Anna? Somethin wrong?"

"No. Why?"

"You better have a damn good reason for calling me at three in the fucking morning."

"It's eight at night, Swamp Rat."

"Not here it ain't."

"Where's 'here'?"

"Egypt. It's where the boss man put us. Much as I love ya, chére, I'm goin back to sleep."

"Come on, Rem, just talk to me for five minutes. Ah ain't seen ya in a damn week."

"Anna, I've got to be up in two hours for a full day of work. I love you and I miss you, but I need sleep."

"Fine. Just call me when you get the chance."

"Come on, Anna. Don't be like that. I would love to talk to you, but if I wake Pyro up this early, he will light my ass on fire."

"Alright. Go back to sleep. Ah love ya, Remy."

"Love you too, chére. Good night." Rogue hung up her phone and leaned back in her bed. _Might as well go to sleep. It's early, but there's nothing else to do._

The next day, it was crazy around the Institute. They weren't having formal training, so everyone was doing their own thing. The New Recruits were goofing off and playing basketball.

Rogue sat off by herself. She was too busy thinking to really join in and do anything, not that she ever did anyway. Mystique being turned into stone had thrown her off guard.

Rogue sensed Logan's presence coming toward her. "Rogue? Still not up to joining the others?" Logan asked. Rogue just shook her head an looked at the ground. "Try not to let things get to ya."

"Nothing gets to me anymore."

"Ya know, what , uh, what Apocalypse and Mystique did to you, it wasn't your fault. Rogue?"

"Ah'm fine, Logan."

"Okay." He turned to leave.

A thought suddenly occurred to Rogue. "Why does the Professor have to keep Mystique around here anyway?"

"You don't have to worry about that anymore, Rogue. She's gone." Rogue looked at him I shock. "We tried everything to help her, but she's just solid stone now."

"So what did they do with her?"

"Gave her to the Brotherhood. Charles knew how much it affected you having her around."

Rogue shrugged. "Hmph. Good riddance." She got up and walked away, leaving Logan standing in shock. He didn't think that she hated her that much.

Rogue retreated to the gazebo. She would care if it weren't for the phone call she had gotten last night.

---_Flashback---_

Rogue had just hung up with Remy when her phone rang. "Hello?"

"Rogue?"

"Mother? Ah thought ya were stone."

"Just a guise. You Don't think I can be gotten rid of that easily, do you?"

"Nope. Where are you?"

"Hidden. I'm biding my time until Apocalypse needs me again."

"That was a helpful answer."

"Spare me the sarcasm, dear, it doesn't faze me. I actually am calling for a reason. Can you meet me at the gazebo in ten minutes?"

"Ya must not be hidden too well."

"I'm hidden very well. I happen to have the night off."

"Fine. Ah'll be there."

Rogue snuck out of her room and went down to the gazebo. Mystique was already waiting for her.

"No doubt that your brother is worried about me."

"Of course he is. He thinks you're dead."

"I hate to make him believe a lie, but I have to, for everyone's sake."

"Did ya want me to come down here to talk about Kurt?"

"No. I have something very important to tell you."

"Well?"

"I'm your mother."

"Ah already knew that."

"No, I don't mean I adopted you. I mean that I am your biological mother."

"What?" Rogue stared at her for a long second. "That's not possible. Ah've seen the adoption papers."

"Adopting your own child is easy when you're a shape shifter."

"How could you not tell me?"

"I wasn't sure that you would be able to handle it. I'm hoping that you can now."

Rogue sighed and attempted to hold back her anger at Mystique for lying to her for the past eighteen years. "Start at the beginning."

"As you know, I was once an assassin. I was actually a member of the New Orleans Assassin's Guild. I even dated Marius before he married. Anyway, you know how things work in the Guild." Rogue nodded. She was an official member of the same Guild. "Well, I was pretty much second in command. The only people above me were Marius, his wife, and the elders. I was involved very closely with Marius for years. His wife never appreciated this close association. Back then, I went by the name Desiree D'Ancanto." Mystique chuckled as Rogue's eyes widened.

"Name ring a bell? Anyway, you know about Julian. You also know that Marius's wife died giving birth to their second child, Belladonna. Well, after her death, I waited for him to get over his grief. Within a month, I was his mistress. I'm sure I don't have to go into any details there. About five months into our affair, I realized that I was pregnant. I told him and disappeared.

"No one knew where I was or what I was doing. You were born in Mississippi seven months later. I kept you until you were two before disappearing again. This time, I became Raven Darkholme. I became a foster parent immediately and took you in. I legally adopted you as Anna Marie Darkholme just after your fourth birthday. The name change was necessity so that Marius couldn't find you until I wanted him to."

"Ah can't believe you!" Rogue shouted. "Ya have been using me since Ah was born! What the fuck is wrong with you"! Why didn't you tell that the jackass that wants to kill my fiancé is my brother?!" Rogue seemed to realize that she was still within hearing distance of Logan. She turned her back on her mother. "Leave me alone," she said coldly. "Ah don't want to even hear from you until Ah tell you."

Mystique stared at her sadly and left. There wasn't much she could do about a daughter that refused to speak to her because of her past choices.

_---End Flashback---_

Rogue had reached the gazebo by this time. She stepped into it and leaned against a post. Her gaze fixed itself on the ocean while she got lost in thought. Her thoughts were interrupted when Kurt teleported in front of her.

"I don't believe it. The Professor gave our mother to the Brotherhood."

"So what? And quit popping up on front of people. It's annoyin." She turned and started to run, only for Kurt to teleport in front of her and block her path.

"Wait a minute."

"Kurt!"

"Seriously, it doesn't bother you that the Brotherhood boys have her?"

"Why would it?" He popped up in front of her again.

"She belongs here with us."

"No she doesn't. Why does it even matter to you?" Rogue started walking away before she even finished the question.

"It made me feel better, that's all."

Rogue headed to her room. She pulled out her phone and absently flipped it opened and closed. She was debating on calling Remy when a noise down the hall caught her attention. She was going to investigate when she passed Kurt's room.

"Why were you so full of anger?" Rogue glanced through the crack that the door was opened to see Kurt sitting on the foot of his bed, staring at the statue of Mystique. She slammed the door open.

"You dared bring that thing back into this house!"

"Rogue, she can't hurt us anymore."

"Speak for yourself!"

"I know you have every reason to hate her. So do I. I mean, look what she's done to us. But still, she's our mother."

"Either you get her out of here or I will." She turned on her heel and started back to her room.

"Rogue," Kurt laid a hand on her shoulder before she could take two steps, "anger and hatred destroyed her. If you don't get rid of yours, it will destroy you too."

"It already destroyed me." She shrugged off his hand and went back to her room.

Half an hour later, Rogue heard the X-Jet taking off. _Good. Maybe they all left and I can finally have some peace and quiet around here._

Rogue rolled over and grabbed her phone off her nightstand. She dialed a number and waited.

"Hello," an annoyed voice answered.

"Damn, sugah, ya can't answer your phone in a happy mood today, can ya?"

"Hey, chére. Sorry bout that. Magneto took off and left me with the tin man and the firebug."

"No problem. You have any idea where he went?"

"Somewhere in Mexico. A dome came up around an ancient pyramid."

"That must be where the X-Men went." Rogue heard some noise on the other end followed by a 'shut the hell up' from Remy.

"Sorry bout that. I'm going into a different room."

"Not a problem." Rogue paused and bit her lip. "Um, Remy?"

"Something wrong, chére?"

"You've been around the Guilds for a while, right?"

"I don't like the sound of this, Anna."

"Do you remember hearing about a Desiree D'Ancanto?"

"Thief or Assassin?"

"Assassin." There was silence while Remy thought about the question.

"I think I've heard mention of her. Why? What's got you so interested in her?"

"It's my mother's name."

"Really? I thought you didn't know who your mother was."

"Actually, it' an alias of Mystique's. She used it in the Assassin's Guild back before I was born."

"So if Mystique is your mother, then who's your father?"

"Marius."

"Merde. Your 'adopted' family is actually your family then?"

"Yeah."

"Jean Luc's gonna love this. Does Marius know you're his daughter?"

"Ah don't think so. Ah'm sure he'd guess if Ah had gone by D'Ancanto when Ah was there."

"Damn. Listen, chére, when I get back, we'll sort everything out. I promise."

"Okay, sugah." Rogue heard a sudden commotion on the other end. "Remy? What's going on?"

"Have you been watching the broadcast bout the dome in Mexico?"

"No."

"Turn on your TV." Rogue obeyed. She saw Magneto facing off against a glowing blue mutant. She instantly recognized Apocalypse. As she watched, Magneto was being surrounded by a weird multicolor glow. She gasped as the glow disappeared in an explosion, along with the Master of Magnetism.

"Remy, did he just…"

"I think so, chére."

"Oh my gawd."

"I've got to go, Anna."

"Bye." She needed some time to absorb what had just happened. Magneto was gone. She started to walkout to the gazebo. She always did her best thinking in the little used space.

Rogue became aware of other presences in the gazebo when she got closer. She recognized Kurt immediately. It took her a minute to place the woman with him. Then she remembered it was Agatha Harkness.

"No, but she can." Rogue happened to catch Agatha's statement.

"What?"

"Rogue? Why are you here?"

"She's come to end the torment. Isn't that right, child?"

"Yes."

"If your mother is alive, only you have the power to save her. Rest your hand against the stone and absorb the mutation."

"Hold on now," Kurt protested. "Is that even safe? What if she.."

"A moment is all it will take. It will free Mystique enough to unlock her own powers."

"You're serious? Ah'm the only one that can save her?"

"Rogue, it's the right thing. You know it is."

"No. I, I won't do it." Rogue started to leave.

"If you don't help her, this ill haunt you for the rest of your life. Prove that you're not like her." She turned back around and walked over to the statue. She glanced at it for a minute and considered her options. Instead of removing her glove and touching it, she pushed with all of her might. The statue went over the gazebo railing and smashed into pieces on he cliff below.

"No!" Kurt had teleported down in time to see Mystique's head break off of the statue. He teleported down the beach below and stared t the remaining pieces of the statue. Rogue turned and went back to the mansion. She wanted to be alone.

After the Mystique fiasco, Rogue kept to herself a lot. She tried to avoid Kurt if possible because he was still incredibly pissed. The only one she ever talked to was Remy.

About two weeks after the whole thing, the Brotherhood was involved in a subway accident. Lance saved a lady and it led to a spree of heroics. The Brotherhood would create a crisis and then solve it to make themselves look good. Wanda stayed out of the whole thing, knowing that her anger had caused the first accident. Their heroics were done once they created a situation that they couldn't handle.

They messed with the engine of a train, causing it to be a runaway. Their plan backfired when they found out that another train was coming the opposite way on the same set of tracks. Pietro, Todd, and Fred all bailed before the explosion. The X-Men ended up saving the day with the help of Lance. Rogue hadn't been there, but she had heard about it from Kitty. Rogue had always believed that Lance was more of a hero than a villain.

Not too long after the Brotherhood incidents, Logan disappeared for a while. It turns out that his clone, X-23, had run into some trouble with some mutants tracking her on behalf of Hydra. He had been kidnapped and woke up in he middle of nowhere. After running into her, he decided to help her. In the end, she used had used him as a distraction while she blew up Hydra's base. Logan hadn't been sure if she had been killed in the explosion, but his guess was the she was still alive. She was his clone, after all.

When Logan came back, the Professor took off with Jean, Storm, and Scott to Scotland. Turns out that he had a son with his ex-wife that none of them knew about. It also turned out that his son was a mutant, and a strong one at that. His only problem was his split personalities. There was David, Xavier's son, Lucas, a self-righteous man that just wanted a face off against the greatest telepath in the world, and Ian, a young boy that said nothing, just watched everyone.

Jean had gone missing after she tried to find Ian. Lucas had kidnapped her and put her inside the castle the party was being held at. He had also taken the liberty of chaining Scott to the wall when he came looking for her. One of David's personalities helped her escape and she helped Scott get free. The trip had ended after a face off between Lucas and Xavier. Xavier had accidentally removed David and Ian's personalities from his son's mind, leaving Lucas in charge.

When Scott, Jean, Storm, and the Professor returned from Scotland, all was quiet for a few weeks. They noticed and increase in the number of anti-mutant protests. They tried to ignore it until some of the New Recruits were confronted by Duncan and a group of his anti-mutant friends. Spyke saved them and sent them home. Duncan wanted revenge on Evan for blowing up his car. He ended up in an all out war with him and some of Duncan's friends. The X-Men came to the rescue, but Duncan and his goons had high powered weapons. They were all saved when a young mutant named Dorian Leech revealed his power to shut off energy around him. He disabled the guns and also the mutant abilities of those near him. Evan was temporarily transformed back into his old self without that spikes and Scott was able to open his eyes without the visor and not blow anyone to pieces.

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**Sorry for the short chapter, but I've only got 4 episodes left. The next one is Cajun Spice. I'm still trying to figre out how I want ot do that one. Anyway, enjoy and don't forget to review!**


	10. Love Is Clear As The Color Of Water

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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For the last three weeks or so, the Professor had been working with Rogue. He was trying to get her to move on after the incident with Mystique and the cliff. They had early morning sessions three times a week. This was one of those days.

Xavier had her focus on Mystique and that day. She saw the statue crumbling and felt herself plummeting. Her eyes snapped open and she started gasping for air.

"You're doing fine, Rogue."

"I can't do this anymore. It isn't working."

"Listen, Rogue, this will take time. You're confronting painful issues of your mother's betrayal."

Rogue grabbed her backpack and slung it over her shoulder. "Ah really think that Ah just need to get away from everything."

"Rogue," she ignored him and walked out of the gazebo.

Rogue was still trying to avoid most of her team whenever possible. It didn't help that Remy had seriously pissed her off the night before. He'd tried to call her back several times after she had hung up on him, but she ended up turning her phone off. She was still pissed as she walked to school that morning.

Rogue was nearing the school when the bell rang. She didn't care if she was late. It was her senior year, anyway. She stopped and looked at the school before turning to walk away.

"Kurt," she said in surprise as she ran into her younger brother.

"Excuse me. I'm late for school."

"Wait, Kurt. Ah, Ah don't know what made me do that to Mystique. Ah just,"

"It's pretty clear, Rogue. There's only one reason to push someone off a cliff."

"Ah'm sorry!"

Kurt stopped walking and tuned to look at her. "Are the rumors true, that you're thinking about leaving?"

"Maybe. Ah don't know yet. Rogue turned and walked back down the alley away from the school. She was passing an opening when a hand reached out to grab her.

"What do you think you're doing?" Rogue asked as son as she saw who it was.

"You are way too tense, chére." Remy wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close. "And I have just the thing for you. Somethin' to help you relax." He leaned in to kiss her. Rogue pulled back and twisted, successfully getting out of his hold.

"What do ya want?"

"You, Anna."

"Ah've got school." She turned to leave.

"I need your help." She turned around at the seriousness that was suddenly in his usually teasing tone.

"Help?"

"Ya damn family has my father. I need your help to get him back."

"Fine." Remy reached for her again and she stepped out of his reach. "But Ah'm still mad at ya. Oh and Ah'm not turnin my powers off until Ah forgive ya, so don't try anything." Remy sighed and followed his fiancé out of the alley.

"We're goin by train," he answered before she even opened her mouth to ask the question. Rogue glared at him and led the way to the station. They hopped on a cargo train and Rogue curled up to go to sleep.

When she woke up, she saw Remy leaning against the side of the car, watching the scenery through the open door. She noticed that his duster was draped over her. He glanced back over his shoulder.

"Ah've been watchin ya for the last few weeks. You're such an unhappy girl."

"No shit, Sherlock." She stood up and walked over to where he was standing. She handed him the coat. She pulled herself up on crate and sat down Indian style. "So…"

Remy sighed. "I know what you're waiting for. I'm sorry."

"That wasn't so hard, was it, sugah?" Remy glanced at her before watching the scenery again. "It'll be okay, Rem. Julian's a dick, but Ah don't think he'll do anything to Jean Luc."

"I hope you're right, Anna."

Rogue settled back against the side of he train and tired to go back to sleep. She had hardly slept the night before because of her fight with Remy. She figured that he didn't get much sleep either. "Come here, Rems."

He looked at her, but walked over anyway. She turned off her powers and leaned in to kiss him. "Relax. Get some sleep while ya can. It'll be crazy down in N' Awlins for you to get any. Especially since it's Mardi Gras." Remy nodded and wrapped his arms around her. He leaned against the side of the train and closed his eyes.

When Rogue woke up again, Remy was sitting at a crate playing solitaire. She watched him as he played. "Nervous?"

Remy glanced up ad smiled at her. "Nope."

"Liar." Remy raised an eyebrow. "You always do something with your hands when you're nervous. Usually you shuffle cards, but sometimes you play solitaire or jiggle your foot."

"Observant, aren't we?"

"Ah've known ya for a long time, sugah." She nodded toward the cards. "Savin the queen?"

"Always do." He picked up the queen of hearts. "She's my lucky lady. Bout like another queen of hearts I know," he replied with a look at her.

"Ah'm not a queen of hearts."

"You're the queen of my heart, chére." Rogue looked at him and started laughing.

"Sorry. That's just one of the cheesiest lines Ah've heard ya use."

"It's true."

"Ah know. Ah'm just not used to hearin lines like that. Ah've been around the X-Men too much."

"X-Men my ass. They're boys."

"Scott's only two years younger than ya."

"But the boy scout ain't old enough to drink," Remy shot back with a grin.

"Ah forgot about that. If ya get drunk at Mardi Gras, Ah'm gonna kick ya ass."

"What if I buy you one?"

"Then Ah'll think about it."

Remy chuckled. "Nice to have someone lookin out for you, huh, chére?"

"Depends on who the someone is," Rogue replied.

"So, you decided on a date yet?"

"What?"

"For the wedding. You're eighteen now, so we can get married whenever you want."

"Ah haven't even thought about it. Ah was planning on waitin a few more years."

"Really? I was hopin that it'd be in the next year or so."

Rogue gave him a challenging look. "We're not getting married until Ah graduate from high school."

"So if you start planning now, we can get married in six months when you graduate."

"Ah think not."

"Why not?"

"Ah want some time to decide what Ah'm gonna do after high school."

"You're gonna be my wife and hopefully a mother. What's there to think about, chére?" Remy glanced over at her to see a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Swamp Rat, there is no way in hell that you are gonna push me into this. When Ah decide Ah'm ready to get married, we'll get married. Ah'm not rushin into this and having to deal with the consequences later." Rogue had backed him against the open door of the train. He was holding onto the sides to avoid falling an he accidentally charged the car.

Remy quickly relented. He'd push this later when they weren't in a train traveling at a high speed. "Alright. We'll finish this later."

"Fine." Rogue went and sat back by herself. Remy uncharged the boxcar and sat on the opposite end from his now pissed off fiancé. They were both silent for a good fifteen minutes.

"So how long do you think it'll take before the X-Men come after you?"

"They should be on their way. Ah'm sure they know where Ah'm at after ya pulled that stunt minute ago."

"Merde." He'd forgotten that Xavier could track mutants when they used their powers. That had definitely been a screw up on his part. Wolverine would have his head when they caught up to them.

"Thanks for bringin me. Ah needed a vacation."

Remy smirked at her. "I know."

"How did you know Ah was ready to leave?"

"It's been obvious for a while. Plus I heard you talkin to that Nightcrawler fool."

"That's another thing. How did you know Ah was going through that alley to get to school?"

Remy shrugged and gave her another smirk.

"You've been spying on me on my way to school?"

"No, just looking out for you." Remy looked at her curiously. "Why are you being such a bitch lately?"

"Ah cannot believe you just asked me that."

"Well?"

"Ah'm sick of bein at the Institute. Do ya have any idea how hard it is to hide who you are from everyone? Ah've got to constantly keep up mental blocks. Ah have to wear long sleeves and pants year round. Ah can't even touch anybody. And to top it all off, my mother is God knows where and Ah have to hide the fact that Ah've got a fiancé that tried to blow up my team! And this fiancé is pressuring me about a wedding when Ah haven't even graduated from fuckin high school yet."

"Sorry I asked, chére."

"Ya wanna know the worst thing?" Rogue asked, ignoring Remy's comment. "The professor has been making me go through counseling with him and it's making me loose my fuckin mind."

"Wow. I thought living with the Acolytes was bad." Remy wrapped an arm around her. "I'm sorry, chére. Will it help if I back off?"

"Honestly, Remy, Ah think the only thing that would help would be if I just came out and told them everything. But Ah don't know if Xavier would let me stay there if Ah did."

"Why not?"

"Oh, Ah don't know. Maybe because Ah've been lying to him for the past year and a half?"

"He would probably forgive you and let you stay there. I know that he doesn't like to turn any mutants down."

"Ah'll just wait until ya come back. Then Ah can stay with ya if he does."

"If that's what you want. I'll let you know when I come back, if I decide to stay down here at all."

They lapsed back into silence as the train neared the city. They jumped when the train slowed down so that they wouldn't get caught. They were on the streets within minutes.

Rogue looked around at the people swarming the town. She loved Mardi Gras. She didn't pay much attention to floats moving behind them, choosing to look at the costumes as people walked past.

"Ah always loved Mardi Gras. No matter who ya are ya fit in."

"First time I've been here without working."

"Working at what?"

"Gettin by," Remy replied, holding up a wallet he had just stolen.

Rogue frowned at him and took it from him. She ran back to the man he had taken it from. "Hey, you dropped your wallet!" She threw the wallet to him and tuned around to catch back up with Remy.

"Hungry?" he asked. "Because that little jazz club there has the best jambalaya."

"I remember," Rogue replied. They had frequented the jazz clubs in New Orleans years ago when they were hiding from Belle. She would never think to look somewhere in public when she couldn't find Remy.

Remy smiled at the waitress as she seated them in a private corner. Rogue looked around, taking in the familiar sights.

"Ah forgot how much Ah missed these kinds of places."

"Yeah. Nothin like this up north."

"So, Ah thought ya were a reformed thief."

"Never claimed to be."

"Don't tell me you're as 'reformed' as your family."

"Not quite, chére. I'm more reformed than they'll ever be." Remy looked up. "Julian." He quickly got to his feet. Julian's goons quickly surrounded them and grabbed each of them by the shoulders.

"Well, if it ain't the infamous Remy LeBeau. Dis just saves me de trouble of hunting y' down." His eyes strayed over Remy's companion. "Do I know y', fille?"

Rogue gave him a glare. "Ya oughta. Ah put up with your sorry ass for long enough."

The comment made something click in his mind. "Anna. Good t' see y'," he said dryly.

"How sweet. Ya remember me. Now ya mind getting your goons to let me and Remy go?"

"Let Anna go." The man holding Rogue immediately let go.

"Julian, let him go."

"Why should I? He's a t'ief. Why're y' even here wit him?"

"Because Ah want to be. Now let him go."

Julian looked at Rogue and relented. He knew that she could easily beat him if need be. "Y' heard her," he said to his men. "Why's it matter t' y', fille?"

"Cause Ah'll have a hell of a time finding a new fiancé."

"What?"

"Ya heard me. Ah'm engaged to Remy."

"Does my Father know dis?"

Rogue shrugged. "Don't know and Ah don't really care. He ain't got any control of my life."

"Really? Well we're supposed t' bring y' back. Mon pére wants t' see y'."

"Why?"

"He wants t' talk t' Anna D'Ancanto." Julian replied with a smirk. Remy growled and Rogue's eyes took on a harsh light.

"How do ya know about that?"

"Let's just say dat de Assassins have dere information sources."

"If Ah'm goin, Remy comes too. And ya'll leave him alone."

"Fine." As much as Julian didn't want to agree, Marius would have his head if he let her get away.

Julian led the way back to the Bordeaux mansion. They led Remy to the room where they were holding Jean Luc LeBeau. They untied him and led him into the room where Marius was waiting.

"Welcome back, daughter."

"Daughter?" Jean Luc looked at them in confusion while Rogue fixed a glare on her father.

"Seems dat y' son is in love wit my daughter and dat she loves him too."

"Daughter?" Jean Luc repeated.

Marius looked thoughtful for a minute. "Y' still want dat peace treaty, LeBeau?"

"Oui."

"Since it seems dat I got one more daughter den I t'ought, how bout we make it so dere marriage brings peace t' de Guilds?"

"Sounds good t' me. But how is Anna y' daughter?"

"Her mother an' m' had an affair a long time ago. She left an' it turns out dat she was pregnant. Anna is dat baby."

"So Remy an' Anna marry an' it brings peace? Y' know dat dere already engaged?"

"Oui. It makes it easier den arranging a marriage."

"Do we get any say in this?" Rogue asked from her spot next to Remy.

"Y' love him, right?" Marius asked.

"Yeah."

"An' y' love her?" Remy nodded. "Den what d' y' need t' say 'bout it?"

"Ah know the way Guild marriages work. Ya'll set a date and expect whoever is getting married to agree automatically."

"Yeah. What do y' t'ink, LeBeau? When should de date b'?"

"I don' know, Marius. Maybe…"

"There's no way in hell ya'll are pickin a date for my weddin. If Ah know ya," she looked at Marius, "ya'll want me to get married soon, since Ah'm already eighteen." Marius nodded. "De sooner, de better."

"Ah haven't even graduated from high school yet! Ah'll be damned if someone else is gonna plan my weddin for me."

"We got trouble," a man announced as he came through the door. "Dere's a boat comin dis way an' one hell of a storm brewin'."

"Shit." Rogue turned to Marius. "Pretend like your after us. Make your men chase us out."

"Why?"

"It's the X-Men. They're comin to 'rescue' me from my 'kidnapper'." She jerked her head toward Remy and Marius understood. These X-Men had no idea about the two.

"Fine, but we gonna talk more 'bout de weddin at some point." Rogue nodded. "Get em." Rogue, Remy, and Jean Luc took off running as Marius's men came after them. Rogue absorbed one to find their way out of the huge mansion.

A huge gust of wind broke out one of the mansion's front walls. Rogue led them toward the boat dock as she saw Storm overhead. Julian and his men pursued them. They lost them in the bayou after Remy blew up Julian's boat and Storm took care of the young Assassin.

Remy pulled himself out of the swamp, only to be confronted by Logan. He winced as his back was slammed hard against a tree. Wolverine's claws were in his face. "You've had it, bub."

"Logan, stop. Please, leave him alone." Rogue's heart nearly stopped when she saw Logan ready to gut her fiancé.

He growled and put him down. "I'm gonna want some answers, Rogue."

"You'll get em." She walked toward Remy.

"Rogue,"

"Don't. You just did the wrong thing for the right reasons."

"So what now?"

"Ah'm going back with the X-Men. Ah don't care what ya do."

"Sure y don't." He walked up behind her.

"Well, Ah better go."

Remy grabbed her hand as she walked away. "You will be fine, chére. Y' got people watchin for you." He let her go and walked away with Jean Luc. Rogue looked down at the card in her hand. 'Call me' was written in tiny print across the bottom.

"Hey, you okay?"

"Ah think so." Rogue followed her brother and the rest of the X-Men back to the jet.

About two weeks after Rogue had gotten back from Louisiana, some of the X-Men went on an ATV trip. Kitty got knocked out and started having dreams and visions about a girl. These visions haunted her until she was convinced that Danielle Moonstar was real and not just a figment of her imagination. She went back to the spot and found the girl in an underground cave. She rescued her and reunited her with her grandfather.

After that, the Professor and Storm went to confront Apocalypse. He ended up destroying them in the same way as he had Magneto. The X-Men teamed up with some other mutants and SHIELD to fight him. The Professor, Magneto, Storm, and Mystique weren't dead, but were being used as Apocalypse's horsemen.

The mutants split up into four groups. They were divided between each of the pyramids that had appeared. A horseman showed up in each location. The X-Men did their best to battle them while trying not to hurt them. Apocalypse gave the command and the tops of the pyramids went into orbit around the world. Rogue ended up saving the world by stopping Apocalypse with powers that she borrowed from Leech. By turning off the power around him, she disabled the pyramids that were supposed to turn the human race into mutants.

* * *

**Okay. This chapter finishes off the episodes. Happy Holidays to everyone. Hope you enjoy this. Thanks reviewers!**


	11. And I'm So Glad I Found You

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Rogue had been bored out of her mind for the last two months. Everything had quieted down some since Apocalypse. It had quieted down further when Magneto had joined the Institute the previous week. Without any mutant terrorists to chase down, there wasn't much to. Rogue had taken to spending large amounts of time with the Brotherhood now that Mystique was back in charge and Rogue was done with school.

Today was one of those days. Rogue sat in the Brotherhood living room with Wanda and Lance. Mystique was out for the day, but Rogue had needed to get away from the mansion for a few hours. It was getting harder to keep everything secret when Marius was calling her to harass her about the wedding.

"Anything on you wanna watch?" Lance asked the girls as he flipped through the channels. He had one leg hanging over the armrest of the chair he was sitting in.

"Not really." Wanda was reading a vampire book at one end of the couch while Rogue sat at the other. Rogue shook her head and he went back to flipping channels.

"How's it goin with Kit?"

Lance glanced over at her. "A hell of a lot easier when Logan's not trying to kill me and Scooter stays off my back." Rogue chuckled and Wanda rolled her eyes. They had both heard their share of Lance's rants about dating Kitty.

Lance got up when the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." Rogue and Wanda ignored him as he left the room. Rogue heard the door open and her curiosity was piqued when she heard an exclamation of 'What the hell!' by Lance.

"Hey there, Rocky. Rogue here?" Rogue immediately recognized the voice. Only one man had that smooth deep voice that could take her breath away.

"Ah'm in here," she called. She really didn't care if Wanda and Lance knew. Neither of them would say anything.

Remy followed Lance back into the room and claimed the armchair for himself. Lance glanced at the Scarlet Witch's feet that were laying across the sofa between her and Rogue. Rogue could tell that he was reluctant to move them.

"Here, sugah, take my seat." Rogue got up and moved to sit in the chair with Remy. This pretty much put her in his lap.

"I thought that sugar was reserved for me, chére."

"Ya wish, Swamp Rat."

Wanda and Lance were looking at them in confusion. They got even more confused when Remy planed a kiss on Rogue's bare neck.

"What the hell? I thought that you couldn't touch?"

"As far as the X-Men know, Ah can't."

"And I thought that you hated him?"

"Ah can't hate him. He's my fiancé."

"For how long?"

Rogue shrugged. "Since Ah lived in Mississippi with Mystique and Irene."

"So the whole time we were getting our asses handed to us by Magneto, you were engaged to an Acolyte?"

"Yeah."

"Any other secrets?" Lance asked curiously.

"My name's not Rogue. It's Anna."

"Anna suits you."

"And Ah've been working with Mystique for the last few years. Ah've still been working with the whole time Ah've been at Xavier's."

"Wow. Anything else?"

"Ah'm the daughter of Mystique and Marius Bordeaux. Ah have two half brothers, Kurt and Julian, and Ah did have a half sister that was engaged to Remy."

"Did have?"

Rogue shrugged again. "She came after me when she found out that Remy was in love with me and she was disposed of." Lance shuddered at the cool attitude she had towards the murder of her half sister. Rogue smiled at him. "She was a real bitch anyway."

Rogue growled as her phone rang. She pulled it out and flipped it open. "What is it this time, damn it?…No, we haven't set a date yet…Ah don't care….Yeah, that's fine….Tell him that if he does that, Ah'll kick his ass….Uh huh…. Ah'll talk to ya later….Bye."

"Marius?" Remy guessed.

"He's so fuckin annoying. That's the second time this week he's called to ask questions."

"It'll be fine, chére." Remy placed a kiss on her cheek and wrapped his arms around her small waist.

"Ya should move into the mansion." Lance and Wanda glanced at each other and left the room. They both had the feeling that this was a private conversation.

"What?" Remy looked suspicious at her bringing up the idea.

"Ah said that ya should move into the mansion. That way, we can be closer and figure out some of the weddin stuff so that Marius'll get off my back."

"You know that it'll look suspicious if we just magically get along, right?"

Rogue frowned. "You're right. So we find a way around it."

Remy toyed with Rogue's silky hair. "Or ya could just move in with me for a while."

"Sugah, if Ah move in with ya, what am Ah gonna tell the X-Men?"

"Tell them that you're moving out. Tell them that you need some time to yourself. I don't know."

"Ya just gave me a great idea. Obviously Ah can't stay with ya up here or they'll wonder why Ah stuck around. But they'll never wonder if Ah go back down south."

"Ya wanna go live with my family?"

"Can't hurt until we find someplace."

"Ya sure, chére?"

"If ya don't wanna, we could always live with my family."

"I don't care, Anna. I'm just tryin to make sure that this is what you want."

"Ah don't know."

"No offense, chére, but I don't think ya know what ya want."

"Ah'm trying to figure it out, swamp rat. Ah've spent so much time doing what everyone else, mainly my mother, wants me to do that Ah haven't had time to figure out what Ah want. Ah just need some time away from here o figure everything out."

"Okay. So we go to N'Awlins, stay with my family unless we find someplace, and figure out what's next."

"Sounds good to me."

"When do ya wanna leave?"

"How 'bout Friday? It'll give me two days to tell the Prof and work everything out up here."

"That's fine. Ya sure about this?"

"Ah'm sure. Now help me think of a way to tell Xavier."

The next day, Rogue decided to tell the Professor. She went up to his office and knocked softly on the door.

"Come in, Rogue." She opened the door and went into the office. He greeted her with a kind smile that she had come to associate with the man. "Can I help you with something?"

"Ah needed to talk to ya. Remember how Ah had been thinking about leaving after the Tibet incident with Apocalypse?" The Professor nodded and Rogue continued. "Well, Ah've decided that now everything is over," Rogue's phone rang, interrupting her.

"Sorry. Do you mind?" The Professor shook his head. She pulled out the phone and answered it. "Can Ah help ya?…What?…Oh my God…When?…Oh my God, Ah can't believe this…Ah'll be down there as soon as Ah can."

The Professor had watched Rogue get paler and more panicked looking throughout the conversation. She now sat there shaking. "Rogue, are you okay? What's wrong?"

"My…my brother's dead."

"Rogue, Kurt is fine. He's upstairs."

"Not him." She looked at the Professor. "Ah'm sorry. Ah have to go." She jumped up and turned around to leave."

"Rogue, wait. Where are you going?"

"Louisiana," Rogue answered as she left his office. She waited until she was in the safety of her room before breaking down and calling Remy.

"Remy here."

"Rems?" Remy frowned. Rogue hadn't called him crying in a long time.

"What's wrong, chére?"

"We need to leave as soon as we can."

"Why?"

"Marius just called me."

"What did he want?"

"Julian's dead."

"What?" Remy could've sworn that he felt his heart stop. He and Julian hadn't gotten along, but he never would've wished death on the man. "Chére, listen to me. I'll be there in five minutes. Are ya in your room?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'll be there soon."

Rogue hung up and sat on her bed staring at the wall with tears running down her face. Julian and her had never gotten along in the conventional way, but she had always loved him like a brother and treated him like one long before she knew she was actually related to him. Sure, he had been a prick on more than one occasion, but that's how he was. He'd be a jerk and Rogue would be a bitch; it all evened out.

Rogue heard her balcony door open. She had stopped locking it since Remy had started hanging around in his free time. He sat on the bed next to her and pulled her into his arms. Remy held her close as she cried against his chest. When she had clamed down some, he pulled back and looked into her eyes. "What happened?"

"They don't know. A group of the assassins went out to a club last night. There was some gal flirting with Julian and he disappeared with her. They looked for him before they left, but couldn't find him. They figured that he went somewhere with her. The next morning, the police got a call about a body in the alley behind the club. His neck was broken."

"I'm sorry, chére."

"Rogue?" the professor's voice called from the other side of the door. "Can I talk to you?"

"Shit. Remy, hide." Before Remy could move, the door opened. The professor looked at them in surprise.

"Hello, Mr. LeBeau. I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I'm sure," Remy commented as he untangled his arms from around Rogue.

"Ah can explain," Rogue started, but Remy cut her off.

"I was comin to join the X-Men when I heard Rogue crying."

"Really?"

"Yeah, if the offer still stands?"

"Of course, Mr. LeBeau, you are more than welcome to join the X-Men. But I actually came in here to talk to Rogue."

"Of course." Remy went to leave.

"Remy, please don't leave." Remy looked at the Professor.

"You are more than welcome to stay if Rogue wishes for you to." Remy nodded and sat back down. "Now, my dear, who is this brother that you mentioned earlier?"

Rogue looked at the floor. "His name was Julian. Julian Boudreaux. His father and my mother had an affair that Ah was the result of."

"His name seems familiar."

"The Boudreaux are very well known in N' Awlins."

"Wait, how do you know that you are the result of this affair? I thought that you had no idea who your biological parents were."

"Ah didn't until my mother told me."

"Your mother?"

"Mystique. She's my biological mother."

"So your name is Rogue Darkholme?"

"No. It's Anna Marie D'Ancanto." She could see the professor about to ask a question. "She went by another name when Ah was born. Anyway, Julian was my half-brother. Our sister was killed around two years ago. That was my father that called while Ah was in your office."

"I see."

"Ah have to go to N'Awlins. Ah need to be with my family."

"You are more than welcome to go, Rogue. I can arrange a flight for you, if you would like."

"Actually, Ah was planning on going with Remy." The professor raised an eyebrow at the thief.

"I've known the family for a long time."

"Well then, have a safe tip. Feel free to take as much time off as you need. We'll be looking forward to your return. And Remy, welcome to the X-Men." Xavier left the room and Rogue started packing with Remy's help.

"That went better than Ah thought it would. Ah didn't even think about what Ah was sayin when Marius called."

"Don't worry 'bout it, belle." He watched as Rogue threw some stuff into a duffle bag. "Ready?"

"Let's go." They went off the balcony rather than having the whole mansion chasing Remy because he was there. She strapped her bag down on his bike and climbed on behind him.

It was a solid days drive to New Orleans from Bayville. They drove for about 15 hours before stopping for the night at a hotel.

"We've got a six or seven hour drive tomorrow and we'll be there."

"So if we leave by six or so, we'll be there before lunch?"

"Oui. Do ya wanna leave early?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Hang on." Remy called the front desk to arrange a wake up call for five thirty A.M. "We'd better get to sleep. It's almost eleven now."

"Okay." Rogue changed into shorts and a tank top before crawling into the queen sized bed next to Remy. "Good night, sugah."

"Night, chére." He put an arm around her waist and held her close as he drifted off.

The ringing of the phone woke them up the next morning. Remy groaned and let go of his hold on Rogue's waist to answer it. "'Lo?"

"Good morning, sir. This is your requested wake up call."

"Thanks." He hung up the phone and looked at the young woman laying next to him. "Come on, Anna. Time to get ready."

Rogue groaned as Remy got out of bed and flipped on the lights. She glanced at him through one squinted eye. He gave her his most charming grin and pulled o the jeans he had been wearing the day before. They would shower later when they had more time.

Rogue got out of bed and grabbed her clothes. She put on faded blue jeans with one knee ripped out and a tight black tee with a monster and the slogan 'Come over to the dark side, we have cookies' across the front. Remy laughed when he read the shirt. Rogue grinned at him before pulling a hoodie on. It would be a cold ride if she didn't have something.

"Y' ready, chére?"

"Ah see that you're finding your accent again."

Remy shrugged and pulled on his trench. "Let's go. It's almost six and I want to get there 'fore there's too much traffic."

"Alright." Rogue grabbed her bag and followed him. They checked out and stowed everything on the bike before climbing on and taking off down the Interstate.

Rogue was tired by the time that they got to the Boudreaux mansion. She wasn't used to riding on a bike like she used to be. She also hadn't slept well the night before because too many things were running through her head.

They rode through the open iron gates and parked near the garage. Rogue led Remy toward the house. Someone came out as soon as Rogue approached the porch. She knew that they had been watching them since they got near the property.

"What do y' want, fille?"

"Ah want ya to get the hell outta my way so Ah can get inside." Rogue fixed a glare on the older man.

"Sorry, fille, but only Assassins are allowed in."

"Ah am an Assassin."

"What's y' name?"

"Anna D'Ancanto."

The man immediately recognized the name. Marius had told them to bring the girl directly to his office. "M' sorry 'bout botherin y', fille. Follow me."

Rogue gave Remy a smile and followed the man. She pulled off her sweatshirt as they got into the house, giving Remy a nice view of her toned stomach. She pulled the shirt back down to where it was supposed to be, an inch or two above her low riding jeans.

The man stopped at a set of double doors and motioned towards them. Rogue nodded and knocked as the man walked away.

"Who is it?" Marius yelled. Rogue opened the door and stepped inside with Remy on her heels. Marius smiled at them and got up to give Rogue a hug. "Anna, m' glad y' here. Remy, good t' see y' again."

"Sorry it's for this reason." Marius nodded sadly and sat in his chair.

"Have a seat." Remy and Rogue sat in the two plush wing chairs in front of his desk. "M' sorry dat I had t' tell y' over de phone, Anna, but I felt dat y' needed t' know."

"Don't be, sugah."

"M' surprised dat y' got down here dis fast."

"Woulda been down here sooner, but we drove."

"How long y' stayin for?"

"Long as ya need me. Ah don't have anything goin on since Ah graduated."

"Y' graduated? Dat mean dat y' ready t' set a date?"

"Ah'm workin on it. It definitely won't be until after Ah turn nineteen in a few weeks, Ah know that. It'll probably be after Ah turn twenty or twenty one."

"Dat would make Remy twenty two or twenty three, no?"

"Yeah."

Marius shrugged. "Long as I get some grandchildren eventually."

"Now hold on one second." Remy chuckled at Rogue's defiant nature.

"We'll work on that, right, amour?" Rogue glared at Remy and he gave her his most charming grin. Marius smiled at the two. He knew that Julian wouldn't have found anyone anytime soon, if ever. The boy had always been too self absorbed to recognize his faults.

Rogue noticed the look that crossed Marius's face and her laughter died immediately. She could see how bad her father was hurting, even though he hid it well. "Um, when's the funeral?"

"Tomorrow."

"Oh." Rogue looked at the floor.

Remy glanced between the two. "Marius? Y' mind if I stay here with Anna?"

"No. Y' two can have Anna's old room. It's still empty and there's a king size bed."

"Thanks."

"Y' need someone to show it t' y'?"

Remy looked at Rogue. "Please. Ah'm not sure if Ah remember exactly where it's at."

"Fifolet!" The same man that had met them on the porch stuck his head in the office door.

"Yes, Marius?"

"Can y' show dem t' Anna Darkholme's old room?"

"Oui. Follow m'."

"Ya mind hangin on a sec while Ah grab our stuff off the bike?"

"Non. Go ahead." Remy was going to offer o grab them, but she was gone before he could get the words out.

"What's Le Diable Blanc doin here?" Remy turned to see Gris Gris, an assassin that he had dealt with several times standing behind him.

"Good t' see ya too, Gris Gris." The man just glared at him as Rogue came back over.

She handed Remy a duffle bag. "Lead the way, sugah." Remy smirked at Gris Gris as he and Rogue followed Fifolet through the halls. He stopped outside of a room.

"Dis is it. Y' need anything, ask someone. If dey give y' a hard time, tell 'em who y' are."

"Thanks." Rogue walked into the room and Remy followed her. She hadn't been in this suite for a good five years. She dropped her bag and laid down on the bed.

"Nice place, chére."

"Ah know. Ah guess it's because Bella and Ah were the only female assassins in trainin when Ah was here. She had her huge setup and Ah got this suite." Rogue looked around. There was the bedroom, a huge walk in closet, a sitting area with a couch and a big screen, and a private bath with a Jacuzzi tub.

Remy sat on the edge of the bed and leaned in for a kiss. Rogue grinned as he pulled back. She grabbed his shirt and pulled him down on the bed before kissing him again. "Ah've missed havin ya in bed, sugah."

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**Longest chapter yet. Okay, I'm going to say that Rogue has graduated since Remy took her to Mardi Gras, which is usually in February or March, she obviously wasalmost finished with the school year then. And she was 18 when Evo was cancelled, so I'm saying that she'll turn 19 soon. And yes, I know that Remy killed Julian in the comic, but Belladonna was also alive. Anyway, hope you liked it. Thanks, reviewers!**


	12. Ringing In My Ear Sounds Like

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

Rogue had spent the last two months in Louisiana. She had talked to Xavier a few times, but avoided the underlying question: When are you coming home? She had more important things to deal with. Like her father and the rest of the Guild. 

Marius had been using the time his daughter had been there to grow close to her and teach her how to run the Guild. He had figured out shortly after Julian's funeral that Anna was the only heir. He had been diligently training her since then.

Of course, Rogue was enjoying the warm but very humid weather. It reminded her of how glad she was to have the ability to touch. She spent most days wearing short shorts and tank tops. She would've gone crazy if she had to cover up and wear gloves.

At that moment, Rogue was lying out in a lawn chair on her balcony, soaking up the late summer sun. She was clad in nothing but an emerald green bikini. She had long ago realized that her balcony was placed so that it couldn't be seen from anywhere but the glass doors that led to the suite. Rogue sunbathed topless, wanting to avoid the tan lines a top would cause.

Contrary to belief, Rogue didn't burn. When she was out in the sun for any length of time, she developed a nice tan. Already, she was several shades darker than she had been. She had been careful to avoid getting a tan before going to Bayville, because it would ruin the hardcore Goth image she waned to create.

Rogue heard a knock on the door to her suite. She put her top back on and shimmied back into her short denim shorts. She glanced around to find a shirt. Not seeing a shirt laying out anywhere, she opened the door.

"Need something, sugah?" she asked the young assassin on the other side of the door. He was probably sixteen or seventeen, which explained why he was staring at her. He probably didn't see girls in bikinis around the mansion much.

"Marius wanted to see you."

"Ah'll be right down." Rogue shut the door and dug out a t-shirt. She pulled the grey shirt over her head and slipped on a pair of flip flops before going down to Marius's office. She knocked and opened the door. "Ya wanted to see me?"

"We've got a meetin with Jean Luc an' some of de thieves in half an hour. It's about y' weddin. I want y' an' Remy down here for it."

"Alright." Rogue turned to leave.

"An' for God's sakes, put some clothes on, fille." Rogue grinned at him and went back upstairs. She changed into a green polo shirt and a pair of black dress pants. She pulled on her favorite dress boots and, as a last thought, pulled her hair up into a bun before going back down to Marius's office.

Rogue didn't even bother knocking this time. She just opened the door and went in. "Better?"

"Oui. Now y' look old enough t' get married."

"Ah better 'cause me and Remy finally narrowed down the date."

"Really? When?" Rogue laughed at Marius's excited expression.

"Next August. Ah've already started planning and looking for a dress. Ya don't mind if we use the same church he and Bella were supposed to get married in?"

"Non, not at all."

"Thanks." Rogue sat down to wait fro Remy and the thieves. "So, who all is invited to this meetin?"

"Jean Luc, you, Remy, Henri, and I t'ink Theo might come, maybe Emil too." Rogue grinned at that. She loved Remy's red headed cousin. He reminded her of Bobby and he was great to tease.

Marius noticed her expression. "Now, Anna, dis is a business meetin. M' not gonna put up with y' and Emil Lapin disruptin it."

"Ah know. Ah can wait til after."

"Ain't y' m' worried 'bout," Marius muttered. Rogue chuckled at his comment. Her attention turned to the door when someone knocked. She glanced at Marius and h nodded. She walked over and opened the door.

"Welcome to the Assassin's stronghold. I'm sure you're just _dyin_ to meet with us," Rogue said as she looked at the thieves standing outside the door. Remy, Henri, and Theo chuckled, while Emil started laughing loudly and Jean Luc gave her a weak smile.

"Anna, I warned y'," Marius told her.

"Lighten up. They know Ah'm jokin," she replied with a smile. She turned back to the thieves. "Please, come in and have a seat." She shut the door behind them and sat next to Remy.

"Jean Luc, good t' see y' again. Henri, Theo, Emil."

"Let's get down t' business, shall we, Marius."

"Course."

"I've got a draft of de piece pact drawn up. It needs y' okay an' y' signature." Jean Luc handed him a folder. Marius took his time reading it before nodding at Jean Luc.

"Looks good. Dis de final draft?"

"Oui, if y' got no problems with it."

"I don'."

"Just sign at de x an' we're done with that." Marius followed his directions and Jean Luc signed his spot. They had the others sign it as witnesses.

"Did y' hear dat mon fille finally set a date?"

"Non. When is it?" He looked at Rogue.

"Next August. Ah was thinking the twenty fifth, but Ah've got to check dates with the church."

Jean Luc looked at the young thieves next to him. "Henri, call de church." Henri nodded and went outside to make the call. He cam back a few minutes later and nodded.

"August twenty fifth's now reserved for de LeBeau-D'Ancanto weddin."

Marius nodded. "Good. Dat gives y' almost a year t' plan."

"Ah haven't got much planning to do. The guest list won't be too hard since it'll be the Guilds and some of mine and Remy's friends. Ah'm sure Ah can find a caterer and all that stuff pretty easy. Ah can find a dress. Tux's will be easy enough and pickin the weddin party'll be a cinch."

Marius nodded his approval. "Good. Don' want y' to have too much t' do."

Jean Luc spoke up. "I agree. How long y' stayin for?"

"Ah don't know. We should probably go back soon."

"Should don' mean will though?"

"No, it doesn't. But we gotta go back eventually, even if it's only for a little while."

"She's right. They already missed her birthday, so they'll want her to be home soon."  
"Ah reckon we should leave later this week."

"Y' sure, fille?"

"Yeah. We need to get back before the X-Men come looking for us. And we've got quite a story to tell them when we get back."

"Y' gonna drive or y' wanna fly?"

Rogue raised an eyebrow at Remy. "It's up t' ya, chére."

"Ah think we'll fly. It took us two days to drive here. And Ah'm sure that Xavier'll let us use one of his cars while we're there."

"Okay den, let's spend some time together 'fore y' leave," Emil said.

Jean Luc nodded, "Meeting dismissed." They all got up and went out into the hall. "Marius, y' and y' closest members are invited t' dinner tonight at de LeBeau house."

"T'anks." Jean Luc nodded and all the thieves but Remy left. "Y' two go do somet'ing while I show dis contract t' de elders." Rogue and Remy nodded and headed up stairs.

Rogue changed into a short jean skirt, a green tee, and a pair of black flip flops. "Come on, sugah. Let's go out."

"Where?"

"Ah dunno. How 'bout we get Mercy and Henri and go out for lunch?"

"Let me see if they're busy." Remy called them. Rogue went outside on the balcony while he talked to his brother. She loved the view of the swamp and New Orleans that the balcony granted her.

"They said that they can meet us in town. We're meeting outside that little jazz club that y' love."

"Okay. Let's go."

Rogue and Remy met Henri and Mercy twenty minutes later at the jazz club. "Where do y' wanna eat?" Henri asked.

"I t'ought we could go t' dis café 'bout a block from here," Mercy answered. Rogue and Remy nodded and followed the couple.

When they were seated and had ordered their food, the conversation turned to the wedding. "So Anna, who's gonna b' y' bridesmaids?" Mercy asked with interest.

"Ah'm hopin that Kitty and Wanda will do it. But Ah'll still need another three." Rogue looked thoughtful for a second. "Mercy, would ya like to be in the wedding as my bridesmaid?"

"I'd love t', Anna."

"Good. Now Ah just gotta think of some others."

"Why do y' need five, amour?"

"One for each of the groomsmen."

"What?"

"Ah was figuring that Henri would be ya best man, Lapin, Theo, John, and Piotr."

"You've thought this out. But I wasn't planning on Theo or Lapin."

"Oh. Then Ah just need Wanda, Kitty, and Mercy. Ah was thinking that the ushers could be Bobby, Kurt, and Sam, but if Lapin and Theo ain't in it, then they can be ushers with Bobby and Kurt."

"Sounds good t' me, chére." They finished their lunch and Mercy and Henri headed off to do some shopping.

"Remy, come on." Rogue started walking off. "There's something Ah wanna do 'fore we go back."

"Alright."

Remy was surprised when Rogue stopped in front of a tattoo parlor. He was even more shocked when she dragged him inside and started talking with one of the artists. "Chére, what are y' doin?"

"Somethin Ah've wanted to do for years." Rogue watched as the guy drew out the design she had described. He showed it to her and she nodded. Rogue gave Remy a smile as she laid down on a table.

An hour later, it was done. Rogue looked at the flaming queen of hearts card now tattooed on her hip. It looked like one of Remy's cards with the flaming glow that surrounded it. Everything down to the last detail was perfect and she had strategically placed it where it would b easy to hide with little effort. Before they left the shop, Rogue also got her navel pierced. She knew that Logan would freak when he saw either of the two, but she was an adult.

When they got back to the mansion, Marius noticed the patch over her tattoo. "What's dat?"

Rogue smiled at him and pulled back the tape to reveal her tattoo. "Ya like it?"

"Why'd y' get it?"

"Ah felt like it."

Marius shook his head "Fille, y' had t' go an' mark y'self up."

"That's what I said."

"Why do ya have such a problem with tattoos? Ah know for a fact that Bella and Julian both had them."

"Bella got hers as a sign of rebellion and Julian t'ought dey looked cool." Marius sighed. "Least y' weren't drunk when y' got your's done. I've seen some bad ones dat got done when someone was drunk."

Rogue shrugged. "Ah figured that Ah may as well get it done own here. Logan would fuckin have my head if Ah got it done in Bayville."

"Dat reminds me, y' plane is leavin tomorrow morning. I got y' seats reserved and y' tickets are in m' office."

"Alright. Can Ah have them so they'll be in my carry on for tomorrow?"

"Yeah." Marius led the way back to his office and handed her the tickets. "M' gonna miss y' while y' gone."

"Ah'm not leavin til morning."

"Y' flight leaves at eleven, so y' wanna b' gone by nine at de latest."

"No problem. Ah'll be sure to come see ya 'fore we leave."

"T'anks. Now y' better go get ready for supper."

Remy and Rogue spent the last night enjoying each other. They were reluctant to leave somewhere that their relationship was more than approved of, it was looked on with joy. They knew that they would have a lot of explaining to do back at the mansion.

Rogue woke up early the next morning. Or so she thought until she looked at the clock. "Shit! Remy get up! It's almost eight!" Remy looked at her. As soon as her words registered In his sleep-fogged mind, he jumped out of bed. He looked at the clock on the bedside table.

"Damn, chére. Scare the hell outta me, why don't y'?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Chére, the clock says it's almost seven. Look again." Rogue glanced at the clock. Sure enough, it was quarter til seven. They looked at each other and started laughing. What else is there to do when you get the shit scared out of you in the morning and you're standing across the bed from your naked fiancé?

Rogue collapsed onto the bed. When she finally caught her breath, she smiled at Remy. "Sorry, sugah. Ah glanced at it and read it wrong. Ah was wonderin why the alarm hadn't gone off." As soon as Rogue finished talking, the clock struck seven and the alarm started buzzing.

"Guess we should get ready, no?" Rogue nodded and made her way into the bathroom. She showered and got dressed before coming back out and nodding to Remy. "Bathroom's yours." She spent the time that Remy was in the shower packing the rest of her stuff. By the time he had finished, it really was eight.

Rogue and Remy went down to have one last southern style breakfast. Soon they'd be back to whatever they could grab before everyone else got to it. When they were done, Rogue said a heartfelt goodbye to her father. One of the assassins drove them to the airport.

It took Rogue and Remy a little over an hour to get through security at the airport. Their plane was on time and they were back in New York by 3:00 since there were no layovers. A driver met them at the airport with a cab. He was clearly less than pleased to be picking up mutants, but the bald man had offered him double the usual fare if he would pick up these two and take them to the mansion.

When they got back to the mansion, they stowed their luggage in their rooms before going to see the Professor. Rogue was nervous about his reaction. Remy seemed calm on the outside, as per usual, but was conflicted on the inside. He was nervous about what Xavier would do and curious about how he'd take it.

Rogue gave Remy a small smile before knocking on the door. She waited for a 'Come in' before opening the door. The professor gave them both a smile before motioning to the chairs in front of his desk. They each took a seat and waited.

"I hope that you had a good trip."

"It was fine."

"Good. I sense that there is something that you want to tell me?" Xavier looked at them questioningly.

Rogue nodded. "Yeah, but it's a long story."

He leaned back in his wheelchair and smiled. "My dear, I have plenty of time."

"Okay. Here goes nothing. Ah haven't been honest with ya since we've met." Xavier raised an eyebrow. "Ah've been working for Mystique."

"I see." The Professor seemed to think about this for a minute before he looked at Rogue again. "Please, continue."

"Ah was raised by Mystique and Irene. Ah knew that Mystique adopted me when Ah was young, but Ah had no idea that she was actually my mother until she told me. It turns out that Ah'm the daughter of Mystique and the leader of the New Orleans Assassin's Guild."

"That's where I had heard the name before."

"Yeah, he's pretty well known. Anyway, Ah was a member of the Assassin's Guild for six years or so. Ah left when Ah was sixteen."

"May I ask why?"

"Ah had known Remy for years, since Ah lived in the mansion and Bella would bring him over. We started datin when Ah was fifteen. We had to keep it hidden 'cause he was engaged to Bella. Somehow, she found out and came after me. Mystique took care of her. She didn't want me to keep on with that life, so we moved to Caldecott. Ah went by Anna Marie Darkholme then.

"Anyway, Remy and Ah kept seein each other after we moved. He asked me to marry him when Ah was still sixteen. He was nineteen. Ah said yes and that was that. Momma had always liked Remy, so she didn't have a problem with it."

"So you didn't have your powers then?"

Rogue shook her head. "Ah did. They showed up when Ah was fourteen. Ah learned how to control them within a few weeks. While Ah was learnin, we took a break from the Guild and stayed in an apartment in New Orleans. In less than two months, ah was back with the Guild."

"You have complete control, then?"

"Yeah." Just to prove it, Rogue took off her gloves and reached out to touch the Professor's hand. "Ah also have the ability to fly. Ah accidentally absorbed another mutant when my powers first showed up. Her name was Carol Danvers. Ah completely absorbed her, and she was stuck in my mind for a while her body was in a coma. A telepath managed to put her back and wake her up, but her flight power stuck along with super strength for a short period."

"So you can completely absorb someone without killing them."

Rogue shrugged. "Ah guess. Back to my story. Ah knew that ya were gonna try to recruit me. Irene had a vision. Ah also knew Mystique's plan. Ah joined with her until she pissed me off. After Ah switched sides, she congratulated me on my plan and Ah went along with it.

"Ah didn't know about Magneto's plans to expose mutants and neither did Remy. Ah wasn't under Mesmero's control when Ah absorbed everyone before Apocalypse was released. The only reason Ah went along with that was because Mystique promised that we'd be safe. Ah also know that Mystique wasn't turned to stone because Ah met with her after Ah had pushed the statue off the cliff. That's when she told me that Ah was her daughter.

"Ah willingly went along with Remy to Louisiana 'cause he told me his father was in trouble and Ah've got a fondness for Jean Luc. He's like a second dad. Ah knew what to do when it came to Apocalypse because Irene had foreseen it and told me what to do when the time came.

"The whole time Ah've been here, Ah've been talking to Remy. Ah love him more than anything and we're getting married next August in N'Awlins. Ah think that's everything."

"Mr. LeBeau, is this all true?"

"Yeah. I've known Anna since she was ten and everything she mentioned after that I know is true."

"Care to tell your story?"

Remy shrugged. "Why not? I was abandoned after I was born because of my eyes. I grew up being called Le Diable Blanc 'The White Devil' for the same reason. Jean Luc taught me trying o pick his pocket and instead of turning me in to the cops, he took me in and legally adopted me.

"I grew up in the Thieves Guild with my brother and cousins. My father would us my powers for his own reasons frequently after they showed up. I did some things that I am not proud f and prefer not to remember. An accident happened when I was younger that made me realize how precious life is." Rogue could tell from his eyes that he was thinking about the death of Etienne, his cousin. His eyes became shadowed as he started talking again.

"I was engaged to the bitch named Belladonna when I was about ten. When I was thirteen, Anna showed up at the Assassin's Guild. We kept our distance, wary of what Belle would do. After her powers manifested, we started to get closer. We were two of the few mutants in the Guilds, so we had a bond.

"Like she said, we started dating when she was fifteen. Bella was killed right after Anna turned sixteen. Raven and Anna went to Caldecott and I would come visit them frequently. I proposed to her before she turned seventeen.

"You all attempted to recruit her and she followed Raven back here. Magneto approached me with a contract and I took it. It allowed me to come up here and I was figuring that I could spend time with Anna. Little did I know how much work it would require and how little free time I would have.

"I would visit Anna here pretty frequently once Magneto moved his base to Bayville. After he disappeared, I stuck around for a while. I got the call from Julian that they had my father and asked Anna for help. It was easier since she was a member of the Assassin's Guild and Marius had found out that she was his daughter. I stayed in Louisiana after we rescued Jean Luc.

"I came back up probably a month before Julian died. Anna would spend her free time at the Brotherhood with Raven and the misfits that she recruited. Wanda and Lance knew that we were dating before Julian was killed."

"That is quite some story from both of you. While I wish I could say that your stories didn't change anything, they have."

"We'll get our stuff." Rogue rose to leave.

"I'm not asking you to leave, Rogue, or should I say, Anna. I'm impressed that you two have come from the lives that you have lived and decided to join with the X-Men and fight the good fight. You have impressed me greatly and I would be honored if the two of you would stay on."

"You're kiddin, right?" Rogue looked at the older man closely. She couldn't see of traces of joking anywhere in his expression.

"No, I am quite serious. Remy, you may share a room with Rogue if you prefer. I would like the rest of the students to know the truth, if you don't mind?"

"No, Ah don't mind. Rems?"

"I don't mind, either, chére."

"Good. It's settled then."

* * *

**Another longer chapter. And the 2nd update in a week. Okay, now the secrets are out and gasp they're still X-Men. Next chapter: find out the reactions of te team and more wedding planning. Hope you like it and thanks to my ever faithful reviwers: allyg1990, gambitfan85, and SouthernLoner. You guys have reviewed every capter I've posted. nice to know that I have some faithful readers! Adeiu until next time.**


	13. Someone's Banging On The Door

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"I'll call a meeting in half an hour. You two can tell your story then. Until that time, I want you to stay out of sight of the others. You can stay in here if you would like." 

"Alright."

"The meeting will be in the study. I'll let you know when to come in."

Rogue nodded. "That's fine. Ya care if Ah go change first?" She looked down at the black pants and hoodie she had thrown on that morning.

"Not at all, just don't let yourself be seen."

"No problem." Rogue flew herself and Remy off the balcony and up to her room. She had made sure to unlock the balcony doors before going down to this office. She landed and opened the door. Remy silently followed her into her room.

"Ah'm going to change." Rogue grabbed some clothes and went into the private bath attached to her room. When she came back out, she was wearing a green tank and faded blue jeans that were fashionably ripped. The outfit let an inch or so of her tattoo show. She finished off her outfit by pulling a white and green ball cap on. Remy immediately noticed that it hid the white streaks in her currently straight hair.

"Chére, I don't think they'll recognize ya." He looked over the tall brunette before him. She had a nice tan that was set off even further by her bright top. Her hair had grown longer and hung at her shoulder blades, rather than the blunt chin-length cut she had sported for the last few years. She had visibly matured even more during their short time in Louisiana.

"If it weren't for your eyes, Ah don't think they'd recognize ya either." For once, Remy wasn't dressed in his trademark coat. His long legs were encased in faded jeans and his maroon LSU showed off his lean torso. His hair had gotten longer, giving it a more haggy appearance rather than the bowl cut it had looked like.

_Rogue, Remy, please come down to the door of the study._ Rogue glanced at Remy to see him flinch. He hated it when people were in his head.

"Guess we better go." Rogue led the way down. Remy wrapped an arm around her waist as she led the way through the mansion.

Rogue stopped in front of a closed door. They figured that the Professor simply wanted them there early, so Remy leaned against the door frame and waited. Rogue grinned at him and leaned in for a kiss. The kiss quickly got more heated and Remy pushed off of the doorway to wrap one arm around Rogue as the other hand found it way up to cup her jaw. Rogue wrapped her arms around Remy's neck and pressed her body to him.

Neither of them were aware of the Professor talking in the room. They also didn't notice when the door was opened. Remy pulled back when he heard a familiar _snikt._ He looked over to see a pissed off Wolverine and a shocked group of X-Men.

"You've got two seconds to get your hands offa her, bub."

"Logan, drop it. He's fine." Rogue led Remy into the room as everyone stared. They all seemed fascinated by the fact that Remy was touching Rogue's bare arms, hands, and waist.

"Rogue?" Scott asked, not believing his eyes. This wasn't the pale, unsocial Goth girl that he knew. She was tan, makeup free, and gorgeous. Even though he had seen her plenty of time, Scott's eyes traveled her body.

Remy watched with a smirk as Scott eyed Rogue. He knew that she looked different than when she left. She was probably ten pounds lighter, half an inch taller, and more toned. Her ordinary figure had taken on an hourglass shape with the lost weight and a slight increase in the chest area.

"Damn." Remy heart Bobby's muttered comment and grinned. Rogue heard it too. She secretly loved having guys drool over her. She hadn't been able to get their attention while she was a Goth, but she seemed to have it now. She noticed every guy in the room staring at her with something akin to admiration. Rogue gave a mental smile. She knew her body was awesome, even better now than when she had left.

"You can touch?" Rogue glanced over at Kitty. The younger girl looked amazed by Rogue's transformation. Rogue could also see the hurt in her eyes that her friend had kept an important secret from her.

"Rogue and Remy will answer all the questions in a minute."

"Wait. What's he doing here?" Kurt snarled as he took in the thief's arm that was still around his sister.

"He has decided to join the X-Men, Kurt. Now, if you two will please tell your story."

Rogue looked hesitant for a moment. "Okay. My name is Anna. Anna Marie D'Ancanto. Ah'm the daughter of Marius Boudreaux and Desiree D'Ancanto, better known as Raven Darholme." Rogue could see the immediate recognition in their eyes.

"You're really my sister?"

"Yeah, Kurt, Ah really am. Anyway, Ah was born in Mississippi. When Ah was ten, my mother took me to join the Assassin's Guild of New Orleans. Ah was more or less 'adopted' by the Guild Master, Marius. Ah was trained to be an assassin until Ah was sixteen, when my mother and me left and went back to Mississippi."

"Why did you leave?" Jamie asked.

Rogue smiled at the younger boy. "Ah'm getting to that. Ah had been datin Remy for almost a year. Only problem was, he was engaged to Belladonna Boudreaux." Rogue ignored the gasps that came when she mentioned her relationship with Remy. "Bella found out and came after me. Mystique took care of her and we left before anyone knew what happened."

"Oh my stars and garters," she heard Hank mutter.

"After we left, we moved in with Irene Adler, aka Destiny. Ah kept seein Remy and we got engaged before Ah was seventeen. Ah knew that Xavier was gonna try to recruit me. Destiny had told us when, where, and what to do.

"The first time ya'll met me wasn't the first time my powers showed up. Ah already had control by the time Cerebro picked me up. Ah joined Mystique and moved up here and ya'll know the rest. Ah'm sorry Ah kept this from ya, but Ah was following orders."

"What do you mean following orders?" Jubilee asked from her seat on the floor.

"Shit, Ah guess Ah left that part out. Ah was working for Mystique up until Apocalypse was locked away."

"You've been lying to us and helping that bitch?" Rogue did a double take at Logan's question. It definitely wasn't what she was expecting. She had figured he'd listen then go out drinking and think everything over before talking to her about any of it.

"She's the only family Ah knew about. What was Ah supposed to do? Turn my back on her? What would you have done?!" Logan realized that she had a point. He wisely chose not to respond.

Rogue looked at the handsome Cajun next to her. "Ah think it's your turn, sugah."

Remy nodded and started his story. "I was born in New Orleans. I have no idea who my parents are because they abandoned me after they saw my eyes. I wandered the streets for a few years before I tried to pick the pocket of the Guild Master of the Thieves Guild.

"Jean Luc LeBeau took me in. He gave me a name and raised me as his son. Naturally, I learned the art of thievery from the Guild. I was almost a master thief when I left." Rogue noticed that he left off the part about her and Bella.

"Magneto offered me a contract and I took it after Mystique urged me not to turn him down. I figured that I'd do some stealing and get to spend some time with my chére while I was here. He only ever told us what to do, not the motive behind it. We didn't know his plans for anything, we just followed orders. Y' all know where that led."

Storm looked at him questioningly. "LeBeau? Have you been to Cairo?"

Remy hid his surprise at the question. "Oui, once or twice."

"I thought I recognized you."

"What?"

"You don't remember me?"

"Sorry, Stormy, but no."

"I was a thief on the streets. I recall meeting you and your father along with Henri, isn't it?"

"Oui." Remy racked his brain to try to remember the white haired beauty. A thought suddenly came to him. "Y' were a member of the Guild there, non?"

Storm nodded. "For a short time, yes."

"I remember you now."

"Wait a second?! An Acolyte is standing here and Rogue is telling us that she's been lying for the last two years and all you can talk about is Egypt?!" Scott looked outraged at the thought.

"What do you want us to do?" Jean asked. "Remy obviously didn't know what he was doing under Magneto and Rogue just confessed to everything. Would you rather we treat them like traitors because they wanted to hide things that they've done in the past?"

"Well, no, but…"

"But nothing, Scott," the Professor interrupted. "As far as I am concerned, they have done nothing wrong. Rogue, or Anna, hid her past…"

"And her current job and the fact that she's engaged to an Acolyte!"

"Ex-Acolyte, Scott," Xavier corrected harshly. He was well aware that Scott needed a reality check every so often. "He is no longer with Eric."

"Whatever." Scott crossed his arms ad glared at Remy. It was the Cajun's fault that he had gotten rebuked. If he hadn't come in, none of this would've happened.

"As I was saying, Anna has hid her past. She's not the only one. Many of us have pasts we'd rather not advertise. And I'm sure she had her reasons for helping Mystique. Unless you know the situation, don't judge someone for their actions. As for Mr. LeBeau, he willingly joined. I have heard his story and know that he truly didn't know what he was getting into when he agreed to Magneto's contract."

The other X-Men looked thoughtful. Well, except for Scott. He was still sulking. Kitty looked at Rogue.

"Why did you hide the fact that you could touch from us?"

"Ah don't know. If it makes ya feel any better, Ah didn't tell the Brotherhood either." Kitty nodded.

"If there are no more questions that you wish to address right now, this meeting is dismissed." The X-Men all filed out of the room. Logan hung back.

"Kid, I know what it's like to have to pick between what you think is right and helping someone that means a lot to you. It's a hard decision to make."

"Thanks, Logan." The moment was ruined by Remy wrapping his arm around Rogue's waist. Logan growled and stalked away.

"Hey, Logan?" Rogue called. He stopped and turned to her. "We're getting married in August. Ah want ya to be there." Logan growled again as Remy kissed Rogue. Rogue bit back a laugh as he stalked off once again.

"Ya love to torture that man, don't ya."

Remy looked at her innocently. "Now, amour, what makes y' say that?" Rogue laughed and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Ya realize he controls the danger room sessions, right?"

"Merde. He's gonna kill me." Rogue started laughing until she heard Remy's phone ringing.

"Lo?"

"How's it goin with de Prince of T'ieves?"

"Lapin, what the hell do y' want?"

"Jus' makin sure y' still alive. Y' told em yet?"

"Yeah, we told em. And yeah, we're still alive."

"Figured I'd check. One of dese days, y' not gonna be able t' talk y'self outta something."

"Like that day'll ever come."

"Y' pere wants t' know when y' comin back."

"I dunno. Sometime 'fore the weddin."

"Smartass. Jus' figured I'd ask."

"We just left this morning."

"I know, but it ain't de same without y' an' Anna."

"We'll be back eventually."

Rogue got tired of listening. "Remy, let me talk to him." Remy handed over the phone. He knew better than to argue with her.

"Hey, sugah."

"Hi, Anna."

"Ya need something?"

"Not really. Jus' wanted t' talk t' m' cousin."

"Well, sugah. You're interuptin our private time."

"What do y' need private time for durin the day?"

"Emil," Rogue said warningly.

"Fine, chére. Tell dat cousin of mine I said adieu."

"Ah can do that."

"Oh, Anna, one more t'ing."

"Yeah?"

"Save some of dat lingerie til after de weddin or we gonna have t' go shoppin." Rogue hung up on Lapin's laughing. She should've know that he'd say something like that. After all, his birthday present to her had been a leather bustier and thong. The card had read 'Here's something for you and Remy. Happy Birthday.' Tante Mattie had smacked him in the head good for that one.

That made Rogue think of something. As much as she told herself that the X-Men meant nothing to her, it had bothered her to see the look of hurt in Kitty's eyes. She had an idea to make it up to the girl, or at least she hoped.

"Sugha, Ah've got something Ah need to do." Rogue disentangled herself from his arms and walked out the door. Remy shrugged and went to look around the mansion.

Rogue went up to Kitty's room and knocked on the door. She didn't hear any answer from the perky brunette, but went in anyway. She saw Kitty sitting in her chair with headphones on. When the girl noticed her, she pulled the headphones down around her neck.

"Hi, Rogue."

Rogue smiled "Call me Anna. Ya mind?" Rogue motioned to the bed. Kitty shook her head and Rogue sat down. "Kit, Ah'm sorry."

"Like, don't be. I can understand why you didn't tell us. You totally didn't want us to freak out."

"That's not exactly it. Ya know that Ah'm not the most open person. It was easier to keep y'all at a distance that to let ya get close. That's the way Ah've always been. Ah've been hurt too many times to let people in easy."

"What about Remy?"

"Ah've known him since Ah was Ah don't know eleven, twelve? Ah knew him before Ah had to push people away because of my powers. Ah had to go for weeks without touchin anyone after they showed up. And he's never lied to me. Even when he knew it would hurt me, he's told me the truth."

"Oh. You make it sound like Remy is the only one close to you."

"Until Ah came here, he was my only friend. He's been through the same kinda shit as me. He doesn't pretend to understand, because he's seen it all. Most of what Ah've gone through mirrors his life."

"Wow. I didn't know that you were so close."

Rogue shrugged. "Like Ah said, we've known each other for a long time. Anyway, Ah came up here to ask ya a question. Ya can say no if ya want."

"What is it?"

"Ah was wonderin if ya wanted to be my maid of honor at my weddin?"

Kitty squealed in excitement. "Are you, like, kidding?"

"No, Ah'm serious. Kit, you're my best friend after Remy. Ah want you to be involved in the most important day of my life."

"Of course I'll do it!" Kitty nearly tackled Rogue with a hug. Rogue laughed at the younger girls enthusiasm.

"Ah'm guessin that this means you'll help me pick out my dress?"

"Of course! And now that you can touch, we should totally go shopping."

"Ah don't know, Kit. Ah've heard about your shopping sprees before. Ah don't know if Ah can last that long," Rogue teased.

"Well, now we don't have to shop in, like, Hot Topic or anything. Unless you're still Goth?"

"The only reason ah was Goth is so that people would leave me alone. But, speaking of Goth, Ah've got to ask Wanda if she wants to be a bridesmaid."

"We should totally go over there and see if she wants to go shopping with us!"

"Who's going shopping?" Jean stuck her head through the doorway.

"Me and Rogue, I mean Anna. You want to go?"

"Why not? Let me grab my purse."

"Okay. We'll meet you downstairs."

"Ah'm gonna go tell Remy what we're doin. Ya wanna wait or come with me?"

"I'll come with you. I really don't feel like standing around when Logan is in a bad mood. There's no telling what could happen, and I totally don't want to do a danger room session right now."

Rogue laughed. "Alright. Let's find that Cajun."

They didn't have to look far. Remy was wandering down the hall toward them when they came out of Kitty's room.

"Hey, chére."

"Hey, swamp rat. Me and Kit are goin shoppin."

"And y' didn't invite this Cajun along? I'm hurt, chére."

"Yeah, right. Ah really believe that. Behave yourself while Ah'm gone."

"I always behave, chére." Remy gave her a charming smile.

"Ah know, ya can go find Kurt and talk to him so he doesn't try to kill ya in ya sleep."

Jean came back over to them. "I'm ready whenever you are."

"We're ready," Rogue said. She leaned up to kiss Remy. "See ya later, sugah. And Ah'm serious. Ya should go talk to Kurt." Rogue walked away with the other two girls.

On the way to the mall, Kitty kept asking Rogue questions about her wedding.

"So, like, what are your colors?"

"We haven't really talked 'bout anything, but Ah like violet and silver."

"Those are okay, but whiteout doing something more like a wine or burgundy?"

"Ya know, that's not a bad idea. We could do burgundy and silver."

"Those are a really good combination," Jean said, glancing over at Rogue. " The burgundy can be for Remy's eyes, you know the whole red and black thing. And silver goes with everything, well almost. Plus, your eyes are a grayish silver color on occasion."

"That's really good. Ah get the feeling that Remy won't care, so Ah'm gonna make a decision on this. Silver and burgundy it is."

"Great, now you totally need to pick somewhere to have it."

"Ah already know where it's gonna be. There's this gorgeous cathedral on New Orleans. Well, actually, it's a catholic church. It's where Remy and Belle were supposed to get married."

Kitty looked at her in surprise. "You want to get married where your fiancé and his ex were supposed to get married?"

"Their fathers set it up, not them, so it's not like Bella picked the place or anything. It's more of a tradition to get married there. Plus, it's big enough to fit a small army."

"Oh, well that's different." Jean parked in a space at the mall and the girls climbed out of her SUV. "Let's shop."

* * *

**Yay, another chapter done. Sorry if the X-Men's reaction wasn't as explosive as you were expecting, but it's the X-Men. They've seen so much happen that it probably wouldn't be the most shocking thing ever. And I swear I really do like Scott, but he does tend to overreact in situations coughDay of Reckoningcough. So subtle. Anyway, Hope you like it. Thanks for the reviews! Oh, and I was going to reveal Julian's killer in this chapter, but it didn't really fit. fear not, the killer will be revealed soon, but feel free to guess. Not saying I'll tell you, but...**


	14. I Hear It Loud And Clear

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

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Rogue and Remy were back in Louisiana. This time, thy had brought Kitty with them. After all, the maid of honor wanted to go dress shopping with her best friend. At least, that had been her argument.

Rogue, Remy, and Kitty got off the plane and went to the baggage claim. They were met there by a red headed thief.

"Lapin!" Rogue gave her favorite of Remy's cousins a hug.

"Good t' see y' too, fille."

Kitty looked at him in confusion before turning to Remy. "What did he just say?"

Remy chuckled at the petite brunette's question. "He said 'Good to see y' too, girl."

"You Cajuns can't just speak plain English, can you?"

"Nope, petit. It's more fun t' confuse y'." Kitty groaned as Remy easily slipped back into the Cajun accent that he usually spoke without.

"I think I like you better in New York. At least I can understand what you're saying then."

Rogue caught the younger girls comment and smiled at her. "Are ya complainin 'bout my man's sexy Cajun accent?"

"Y' t'ink Cajun accents are sexy, chére?" Lapin asked.

"Only when the Cajun is tall, dark, and handsome. Sorry, sugah."

"Y' a riot, Anna," Lapin replied dryly. His eyes caught the girl standing next to Remy.

"Lapin, let me introduce y' t' Anna's maid of honor. This is le chat."

"Le chat? Y' de cat?"

"What? My name's Kitty. Kitty Pryde."

"Now I get it. M' name's Emil Lapin."

"What does le chat mean?" Kitty looked at Emil, but Remy answered.

"It means the cat, like Lapin means rabbit." Remy smirked at his younger cousin.

"Y' jus' got off de plane an' already y' abusing m'. M' gonna tell Jean Luc 'bout dis."

Remy shrugged. "Emil, y' talkin t' de Prince of Thieves. Y' think he's goin' believe y' over his own son?"

"Dat depends on what dis son has done recently."

Remy shrugged. "Been in New York with mon amour workin on weddin plans. Y' think he'll complain bout that?"

"Damn. Y' right."

"I know. Let's get outta here." Remy led the way out of the airport and then followed Emil to the car.

Rogue and Remy chatted easily with Lapin on the way back to the Guild house. Kitty was so absorbed in looking at the old city that she had no idea what they were even talking about. She gasped when they pulled up in front of the LeBeau mansion.

"Wow. It's, like, huge! It's bigger than the Institute."

"Needs t' be, chat. Dere's a lot o' t'ieves here." Lapin led the way inside. Rogue automatically started walking toward Jena Luc's office.

"He's not in dere, fille." Rogue turned around and hugged the dark haired man that had snuck up behind her.

"Bonjour, Theo."

"Good t' see y', Anna." Theo then embraced his younger cousin. "Remy, good t' see y' didn' run off."

"What the hell has gotten into everyone? M' not gonna take off." Theo and Emil chuckled at Remy's expression.

"Theo, Emil, y'all behave," Rogue reprimanded. "Theo, meet my friend, Kitty Pryde. Kit, this is Remy's cousin Theoren Marceaux."

"Nice t' meet y'." Theo nodded to her before looking back at Lapin. "Y' might wanna hide, Lapin. Mercy's pissed 'bout somet'in y' did."

"Merde." Lapin wandered off.

"Who's Mercy?"

"Dat'd be moi." Kitty turned around to see a beautiful blond woman standing behind her with an attractive man. "Anna, good t' see y', chére." The blond gave her a hug while the man hugged Remy.

"Henri, ya shaved your head." Anna gave the older man a hug while Kitty looked on in confusion.

"Kitty, dis is m' brother, Henri and his wife, Mercy. Henri, Mercy, dis is le chat."

"Her name's Kitty," Rogue interrupted.

"Nice t' meet y'." Mercy told her. "Anna, Jean Luc's at y' family's house." At her questioning gaze, Mercy shook her head. "Not'in like dat. He an' Marius are talkin 'bout de weddin."

"That can't be good."

Mercy shrugged. "Why don' we find a room for Kitty? Or are y' stayin with de Assassins?"

"We're stayin here, sugah. We stayed with the Assassins last time. Ah'm sure Marius'll have something to say bout it, but Ah don't really give a damn."

"Henri, can y' show Kitty t' a room?"

"Oui. Come on, fille." Kitty followed Remy's brother down the hall.

"Y' found y' dress yet?"

"No. Ah'm hopin to get a chance to go shoppin down here."

"No problem, Anna. We can go whoever y' feel like. I know dis great lil shop dat has de most belle dresses."

"Sounds great, sugah." Rogue smiled at Mercy as she caught a movement out of the corner of her eye.

Mercy saw this too. "Emil Lapin, y get back here!" She went to find the younger thief.

"Merde. Dis is gonna be a crazy stay," Remy commented as he watched his sister-in-law go after his cousin.

"Ya said it, sugah." Rogue looked around the hall that they were standing in. "Which way to your room?"

Remy smirked and led her toward the steps. They went up two flights and turned. Remy opened the door to reveal a huge bedroom with a king size bed. Rogue gave a low whistle.

"Nice, eh, chére?"

"Ya got that right." Rogue set her stuff down and walked into the adjoining bathroom. It was also a pretty good size. There was a shower and a Jacuzzi tub. "Sugah, this is the life."

"Some days," Remy replied. He was laying across the bed. "Y' even got a private balcony, chére." Remy smirked at her. He knew her fondness for sunbathing.

"Great. Ah'm gonna go see Marius. Ya wanna come?"

"Sure."

"Let me change first and then find Kitty." Rogue was dressed for the fall weather in upstate New York. It was too hot to wear long sleeves in the bayou. She pulled on a white t-shirt and short jean shorts with tennis shoes. Remy also changed into a black t-shirt. Rogue knew that the trench would stay behind today.

"Lead the way, Rem." Rogue followed him through the mansion to the guest rooms. He knocked on the door to one and Kitty's head popped out.

"Like, hey." She phased through the door and Rogue noticed that the younger girl had also changed. Instead of the pink sweater she had been wearing, she now had on a red tank and capris.

"We're goin to see my family. Ya wanna come?"

"Totally. I so want to meet, like, your whole family."

"It's just my father. He's the only family Ah have besides Mystique and Kurt."

"Y' wound me, chére."

"Oh, and the LeBeaus. And Ah guess ya could count the X-Men, if you're countin the Guilds."

Kitty nodded. "So is there anything that I, like, need to know before I meet anyone else?"

"Don't trust Lapin," Remy quickly answered. "Anythin y' hear from him, 'specially bout me, should always be questioned 'fore y' believe it."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ignore him, Kit. Lapin's great. He's just sayin that 'cause Lapin has all kinds of stories 'bout him."

"Really?" Kitty made a mental note to ask the redhead about Remy later. "Anything else?"

"You'll probably meet Gris Gris at my father's house. If he's a dick, don't take it personally. That's just his personality."

"I'll try to remember that."

"There's not much to really know 'bout it. Just stick close to us."

"Okay." Kitty climbed in the backseat of the car. Remy drove to the Bourdeaux mansion since he knew the way. Kitty ignored the conversation, choosing to look out at the strangely gorgeous swaps.

Remy stopped at the huge wrought iron gate. An intercom buzzed to life next to the car.

"'Who is it?"

"Dat anyway t' answer, Gris Gris?"

"Fuck off, LeBeau."

"Watch y' language. I've got Marius's daughter with me." Kitty heard a growl from the other end, but the gate swung open anyway. Remy parked near the front of the house and the three climbed out. Gris Gris met them at the door.

"Welcome back, Anna."

"Thank ya sugah. My father busy?"

"No, follow me." Rogue followed after the man without hesitation. Kitty looked at him a minute before following.

"Thank ya," Rogue told him as he stopped at the door. Gris Gris nodded and started to walk off. "Oh, and if ya ever talk to Remy like that again, Ah'll kick your ass."

"Like you could."

"Ah may not be able to, but my father sure as hell can." Gris Gris glared at her and walked off. Rogue turned back to Remy and Kitty. "Ah love doin that." She knocked on the door.

"I'm busy."

"Ya sure 'bout that?" Rogue asked as she stuck her head inside the office. She smiled at Jean Luc. He nodded in response.

"Anna, come in, fille." Marius stood and walked toward the door as Rogue, Remy and Kitty filed in. He gave Rogue a crushing hug.

"Remy, mon fils, good t' see y'." Remy nodded and gave his father a quick embrace. Kitty stood there awkwardly as the others greeted each other.

"Papa, this is Kitty. She's a friend from up north and my maid of honor." Marius looked over at his daughter's friend.

"Bonjour, Kitty." He offered the girl a smile.

"Nice to meet you, sir."

"Jus' call m' Marius."

"An' m' Jean Luc." The man that had spoken bowed and kissed her hand. Kitty couldn't hold back a giggle at the gentlemanly gesture.

"I can see where Remy gets it from."

"Y' been home yet?" Jean Luc asked them.

"Oui. When we left, Mercy was tryin to catch Lapin for something."

Jean Luc shook his head. "Dat boy'll never learn."

Rogue shrugged. "He's always been like that, sugah, ever since Ah met him." She looked over at her father and Kitty could see a slight resemblance. "Anyway, we," she motioned to herself and Kitty, "were planning on goin dress shoppin sometime this week…" Rogue trailed off and gave her father a smile.

Marius looked at her and gave a small sigh. "Y' want m' card?"

"If you're offerin," Rogue grinned at her father and he pulled out his wallet. He handed her a credit card before putting his wallet back. She threw her arms around his neck and he smiled.

"Y' have a good time shoppin an' don't spend all m' money." Just after seeing the mansion and it's elaborate furnishings, Kitty had a feeling that even she couldn't spend all of his money.

"Thank ya."

Marius shrugged. "It'll be y' money one day." Kitty gaped at the man. She had no idea the Rogue would inherit everything.

Rogue looked uncomfortable. That comment had reminded her that her brother was dead and that her mother had been responsible for the death of her sister. "Anyway, Ah think we're gonna head back, but Ah'll be back tomorrow or the next day." She hugged her father and gave him a kiss on the cheek before turning to leave.

"See y' three at home." They nodded at Jean Luc's comment and went back to the LeBeau mansion.

When they got there, Rogue told Kitty and Remy to go hang out with his cousins. Remy gave her a questioning look, but went along with it. Rogue had something that she needed to do.

Rogue went back up to the room her and Remy were sharing. She dug around in her bag for her phone before finally finding it. She flipped it open and dialed a number she hadn't used in a while.

"Hello?"

"Mother?"

"Anna, I knew you'd call eventually."

"Ah'm sure."

"How have you been?"

"Just dandy. Well, someone killed my brother, but other than that."

"Something happened to Kurt? I'll kill them…"

"Mother," Rogue interrupted her rant. "Kurt's fine. Ah was talking about Julian." Silence met her ears. "Mother, are ya there?"

"I'm here. I heard about that. Such an unfortunate thing."

"Why'd ya do it?"

"What?"

"Don't deny it. Ah know that ya did it. It had ya marked all over it."

"What are you talking about."

"Dark alley, beautiful girl, drunk guy. It's your style."

"I' afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Stop denying it, damn it! We both know you did it. I just want to know why."

"Just looking out for your well being."

"Don't give me that bullshit. Ah know ya had a reason."

"You're right. That bastard hurt me a long time ago and this was my way of getting revenge on him for all the pain he caused me."

"You're still pissed at Marius for something that happened twenty years ago? Ah can't believe this! You killed his children, for Christ's sake! How can you be cold enough to do that?"

"You weren't complaining when I killed Bella."

"That psycho bitch was trying to kill me. Besides, this is different."

"How so?"

"Bella was always unstable. The smallest thing would set her off. I know that she would've killed me eventually. Julian was different."

"You're wrong."

"Really? And how do you know this, oh great one?" Rogue asked sarcastically.

"I heard him talking to his friends about how he had already lost one sister because of Remy LeBeau. He told them that he sure as hell wasn't losing another. He was planning on killing Remy."

"Why the hell should Ah believe you? You're a fuckin liar! You've lied to me so many damn times that Ah'm surprised that Ah'm not in therapy to sort out my fucked up mind!"

"Believe what you want. I'm telling the truth."

"Ah don't know if Ah can believe ya anymore."

"Anna, I can tell that you want to believe what I'm saying."

"You're my mother. Ah want to believe ya, but Ah can't. Ah've heard so many damn lies in the past few years that Ah find it hard to believe anyone."

"Where are you?"

"New Orleans."

"I'm coming to see you tomorrow."

"Ah'm goin dress shoppin with Kitty and Mercy."

"Darling, you cannot go dress shopping without me. I've had minimum contact with you since Apocalypse, but there is no way that I am missing my only daughter buying a wedding dress."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Fine, but ya better meet us at the shop."

"I was planning on it."

Rogue hung up and threw her phone across the room. It hit the wall next to the doorway just as Remy came in. He looked from her to the phone and picked it up. He set it on the bedside table before sitting next to her.

"What's wrong?"

"Ah don't want to talk about it." Remy sighed. He knew she wouldn't talk about it until she was ready. Instead of pressing her, he wrapped his arms around her and just held her. Rogue buried her face in his chest and inhaled his distinct scent.

They had been sitting like that for ten minutes before Rogue pulled away slightly. Remy let her go, knowing that she was ready to talk and couldn't do so with her face buried in his shirt. He waited for her to start talking.

"Ah found out who killed Julian." Remy's eyes widened in surprise. That was the last thing that he was expecting.

"It was Mystique. She said that she was looking out for me. Claimed that he had mouthing off to his friends after he was drunk. Said he'd already lost one sister to ya and he wasn't losing another. She said that he was going to kill ya."

"Merde," Remy muttered quietly.

"Ah really want to be mad at her, to hate her or something. But Ah can't. Ah don't know if she's lyin, but Ah've got to wonder if there isn't some truth to it. Ah know that Julian always talked a lot when he was drunk. And he hated ya something terrible."

"I wouldn't put it past him, chére. He threatened t' kill m' after Bella died. I don't doubt that he'd kill m' t' protect y'."

"Ah know and that's why Ah can't hate her for this. The part that gets me is that she said that she did this for me than said that she did it for revenge against Marius. Ah can't help but wonder if revenge means more to her than Ah do."

Remy wrapped his arms tighter around her as her tears began to fall. "Shh, chére. M' sure it don't." He tilted her chin up to meet his gaze. "Sounds like y' need t' have a good talk with her."

"Ah'm planning on it. She's goin dress shoppin with us tomorrow. Ah'm hopin that Ah can talk to her after."

"Good idea." He looked closely at her. "Y' gonna be okay?"

Rogue nodded. "Ah'll be fine."

"Good, 'cause we're goin out for dinner."

"We?"

"Me, y', Emil, Mercy, Henri, an' Kitty. So get ready."

Rogue pressed her lips to his. "Ah love ya, Mr. LeBeau."

"An' I love y' too. Now get." Remy pushed her toward the bathroom and she laughed. She suddenly felt much better about everything.

* * *

**This'll probably be the last chapter I get up before I go back to school, but I may write another chapter tomorrow, I don't really know yet. To anyone that figure out the killer - good job. I wasn't too creative there, but it fits in with the other stuff that she's done in this story. ANyway, enjoy. Thanks to my reviewers.**


	15. Something I Just Can't Ignore

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

"Kurt, Ah'm telling ya, Ah don't know when Ah'll be back. Ah've got a lot to do here…Ah'm lookin for a weddin dress…No, Ah have no idea…Ten months…No ya can't kill him for marryin me…Ah said no, damn it…Alright. Ah love ya too. Bye." Rogue hung her phone and rolled her eyes. 

"Kurt playing the protective brother again."

"No. Kurt bein an asshole again. He wanted to know if he could kill Remy before the weddin." Rogue started looking through a rack of dresses.

"Why?" Kitty started at the next rack.

"Then Ah'd be back up there instead of spending my time down here, since Ah wouldn't have a weddin to plan." Rogue paused at a dress before going past it. It wasn't really her style.

"Sorry I'm late, dear."Rogue turned to see a blond woman that strongly reminded her of Carol Danvers. _Stupid bitch._

"Bout time ya got here. Help me find a dress." Mystique nodded and started looking.

"Anna, chére, it helps if we know what t' look for."

"Ah'm open to anything, but Ah'd prefer something more ball gown style with a corset top." Mercy nodded ad went back to looking.

"What about this?" Kitty pulled out a dress and showed it to her friend.

"It's a possibility." Rogue looked closer at the dress. It's bodice was a strapless corset like Rogue wanted, with extravagant beading. The skirt was full and would fall to the ground when worn. She nodded her approval. "Definitely a possibility."

Kitty grinned and handed it to the nearby shop girl to put in the dressing room for Rogue.

Mercy found the next dress that Rogue liked. It was a corset top, but with a square neckline and mesh bell sleeves. The dress was a-line, which Rogue wasn't crazy about, but she figured she'd try it on anyway.

They kept looking before Rogue found it. It was the perfect dress. Ball gown style with a corset top. There was intricate beading and metallic stitching across the bodice that matched the intricate design at the bottom of the smooth skirt. The train was bout four feet long.

Rogue tried on the seven gowns that had met her approval. As soon as she tried on the one that she picked, she knew it was perfect. The look across the other girls' faces reaffirmed her belief that this was the dress.

"Wow, you look, like, totally gorgeous."

"Oui. Y' tres belle."

Rogue looked at Mystique for confirmation. She was surprised to see the woman who had such a cool attitude toward death wiping tears from her eyes. "You look perfect. I wouldn't be surprised if Remy falls off the altar when he sees you."

"Thank y'all." Rogue turned to the shop girl. "Ah'll take it."

"Yes, ma'am." The girl helped her out of the dress then went to ring it up while Rogue changed back into her clothes. Rogue paid for the dress and they left the store. She would pick up the dress at a later date, after it had been altered to fit her perfectly.

"Now we gotta find ya dresses."

"What color are we going to be in?"

"Ah was thinking burgundy for everyone, but a different style dress for Kitty. Ah figured Wanda wouldn't have a problem with wearing burgundy."

"Yeah, and the guys will totally look good in black and burgundy and silver. Or even without the silver. Ooh, then it would, like, match Remy's eyes."

"Trust me, chére, de last thing they'll remember is what de tuxes looked like." Mercy smirked at the younger brunette. "I bet Henri couldn't even tell y' what color he wore at de weddin."

Rogue laughed at her sister-in-law. "He probably doesn't remember goin to the weddin. But Ah can guarantee ya he remembers the weddin night."

Mercy blushed. "An' y' don't think dat's what Remy will remember?"

"Ah know he will, sugah." Rogue assured her with a smirk.

"Bout like he remembered de night he proposed? He walked 'round with a smile on his face for a week after dat."

Rogue shrugged. "What can Ah say, sugah. Ah'm memorable." Kitty blushed at the conversation. She was very much the innocent, barely legal teen. Mystique shuddered at the thought of her daughter and Remy together. In her house.

Rogue led them into another shop. They started looking through the different dresses, not concerned with color as much as finding a style that they all liked. Kitty picked out a mermaid style dress that Rogue immediately vetoed. She was not having anyone wear a dress like that at her wedding. It definitely wasn't something she'd go for. She also shook her head at Mystique's selection of a shorter dress.

"What do y' think of dis?" Mercy pulled out a dress and showed it to her. It was a floor length sheath with spaghetti straps.

"What do ya think, Kit?"

"I like it."

Rogue looked at the girl that was faithfully helping them. "Do ya have this in a two and a four?"

"I can check." She walked away to look. She came back with two dresses. "We don't have a two, but I found a four and a six."

"Thanks." The girl nodded and handed the dresses to Mercy and Kitty. "Ah know ya gonna wear a different dress, but Ah wanna see how they look."

Kitty nodded and went to try on the dress. Mercy went into the next dressing room. They both came out a minute later.

"They look good, dear." Rogue had to agree. They were simple, yet elegant looking. And the color she had planned was one that Wanda would wear without much fuss.

"Can ya move in them?" Kitty nodded and demonstrated. "What do ya think, Merc?"

"I like dem, Anna, but it's y' call."

"One second." Rogue pulled out her phone and dialed a number. "Hey, Wanda…Ah think Ah found the bridesmaids dresses…Ah'll send ya a picture. Hang on." Rogue pulled the phone away from her ear and took a picture. She sent it to Wanda and waited for the girl's answer. "Ya like it?…No, they won't be pink…Good…What size?…Okay." Rogue hung up.

"Looks like y'all found ya dresses, Mercy." Rogue turned back to the shop girl. "Do these come in burgundy or maroon?"

"Oui, but we'll have to order them."

"Okay. We're gonna look around some more, then Ah'll let ya know."

"Of course. Take your time." Kitty was already browsing through the dresses. She squealed as she pulled one out.

"This one would be so perfect!" Rogue looked at the dress. It was a strapless A-line with a cascading back. It would match her dress beautifully.

"Ya like it, Mercy?"

"Oui. It would look belle with y' dress."

The girl had already gone to the back and gotten two in the same sizes as before. She handed them to each of the girls and waited while they changed. When they came out of the dressing room, Rogue gasped. The dresses were perfect.

"They're perfect, Anna." Rogue nodded at Mystique's comment and looked at Kitty.

"Ya mind wearin the same dress as the others?"

"Not if it looks like this, I don't."

"Good." She looked at the shop girl.

"These do come in burgundy. We don't have any in stock besides these and one other at the moment, but it should only take a few weeks for them to come in. When is the wedding?"

"August."

"Oh, we have plenty of time then. What sizes?"

Rogue eyed the girls that were wearing the dresses. Kitty's was a little big on her. "Ah know that we'll need a six." She looked at Mercy. "Ya want to try Kit's on?"

"I can." Mercy and Kitty both went back into the changing rooms.

"Do ya have a two?"

"I believe so." The girl went back to get a smaller dress.

Mercy came out wearing the dress Kitty had on. "That looks better, sugah."

"Oui. It fits better." The girl came back and handed Kitty the two. Kitty came out in it a minute later. It fit her perfectly.

Rogue nodded. "Ah'll need a two, a four, and a six."

"Yes, ma'am." The girl wrote everything down and led them to the checkout. Kitty and Mercy joined her a minute later. The girl rang up the total and Rogue handed her Marius's credit card. The girl's eyes widened when she saw the name on it. She wouldn't have taken this girl to be a Boudreaux. Rogue smiled at the girl.

As soon as they got out of the store, she started laughing. The others looked at her like she'd lost her mind. "Ah'm sorry, but did ya see that girl's face when she Marius's name on the card?"

"Probably like when I use a card with Jean Luc's name on it." Mercy started laughing too. Kitty and Mystique just looked at them before walking off a little.

"Oh, come on, Kit. It's like the looks we get when we use Xavier's card." Kitty suddenly understood. It was a look of shock that meant 'oh, you're one of them.'

"Let's find somewhere to eat." The others nodded at Mercy's comment. She led them to a small outdoor café that had been a favorite of hers for years.

The girls spent most of the day shopping before heading back to the mansion. Rogue sent Mercy and Kitty inside with the bags so she could talk to Mystique. They sat at the table on the patio.

"Anna, I..."

"Wait. Ah've got something Ah need to ask ya first. Does revenge mean more to ya than Ah do?"

"Where would you get a crazy idea like that?"

"Ah don't know, maybe the fact that ya killed Julian and when Ah asked ya about it, ya said that ya wanted revenge on Marius."

"Anna, you have to understand…"

"Ah hate this! Ya always fuckin do this to me! Ya can't answer a damn question straight up! Ah don't give a fuck what your reasons are! Just answer my question. Please." Rogue looked at her mother with a mix of disappointment and confusion across her face. "Ah just want to know the truth."

"Did I do it for revenge? No. Was I thinking about revenge while I was doing it? Hell yes. How could I not?"

"What was your real reason?"

"I did it for you. You are guaranteed to inherit everything since you are the only living child of Marius."

"You did this so that Ah would inherit everything? You've got to be fuckin kidding me." Rogue gave her a confused look. "Have ya forgotten Guild laws? After me and Remy married, we would have inherited everything anyway. We'll automatically be leaders of the unified Guilds."

Mystique shrugged. "So I forgot something. Sue me."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Fine. Ah'll believe ya, but ya better not be lyin to this'll be the last time ya talk to me for a long time. Good night." Rogue turned and went inside.

Mystique watched her before leaving. "That's what you think, my dear."

Kitty was waiting for Rogue when she got back to the room her and Remy were sharing.

"Hey, Kit. Where's Remy?"

"Helping, like, Emil or Theo or someone."

"What are ya doin here?"

"Anna, like, I totally know that the blond was Mystique. I thought that you were, like, pissed at her."

"It's complicated. Ah don't know what to think."

"Oh." Kitty looked out the window at the trees beyond. "So, I can totally see why you like it down here so much."

Rogue smirked at Kitty. "Is the valley girl telling me that she likes the South? Or does she have a crush on a certain Cajun?" she asked teasingly. Kitty blushed.

"We're, like, just friends. That's it." Rogue laughed at Kitty's defense of whatever it was that Rogue had noticed between her and Lapin. "Besides, I so totally still have Lance in Bayville."

Rogue nodded at the girl's statement. Lance had been dating the eighteen year old brunette since the Apocalypse incident. But Rogue had noticed that Kitty had been spending a lot of time around Remy's younger cousin. "Ah forgot bout him. What's he think bout ya bein down here for this long?"

Kitty shrugged. "Not much he can do about it."

"Anna, chére! Y' an' Kitty come help m' wit' dinner!" a voice yelled up the stairs.

"Comin, Tante!" Rogue called back. "We better get goin, Kit. Ya don't want Tante after ya, trust me."

The three X-Men left two days later to go back to New York. They had only been granted a temporary leave to get more arrangements made for the wedding that was less than ten months away. They were greeted at the airport by an excited Bobby.

"What are ya doin here?" Rogue asked suspiciously. "And where's Logan or the Prof?"

"At the Institute. And I'm your driver."

"Ah don't think so."

"Yeah, I am. I got my permit while you were gone and Remy's over twenty one, so I can drive with him in the car."

"If ya kill me, before my weddin, Ah'm comin back to haunt ya. Now which way to the car, ice prick?" Bobby glared at her, but led the way to Scott's convertible. Rogue and Remy climbed in the back, leaving Kitty to sit up front.

As Bobby pulled out onto the road, Rogue and Remy smiled at each other. "So, Bobby, how'd ya get to the airport if ya need someone to ride with ya?"

"Shit!" Bobby hit the brakes and turned around. Kitty, Rogue, and Remy started laughing.

"Ya left Mr. McCoy, didn't ya?"

"Maybe."

"Good, cause ya turned the wrong way out of the airport anyway." Bobby glared at her in the rearview mirror. Rogue shrugged.

"Don't get pissed at me cause ya don't know where your goin."

"Robert Drake!" Bobby turned his gaze from Rogue in time to hit his brakes before he hit Beast. Kitty climbed into the back next to Rogue so Beast could have the front.

"Sorry, Mr. McCoy. I forgot that you were with me."

"I'm sure." He climbed in the car and turned to smile at the three in the backseat. "Welcome back. Did you have a nice time in Louisiana?"

"It was so totally awesome! I, like, totally had a great time. Oh my God, Anna totally found the most gorgeous wedding dress. And Remy's cousins are, like, totally cool."

"Nice to hear that Ms. Pryde. As for you, Mr. Drake," he turned around to talk to Bobby. "You are not allowed to drive after we get home until you can remember what you need to remember to be a capable and safe driver."

"Ya missed it. He turned the wrong way out of the airport. We were headed toward downtown New York until Ah asked him about ya."

"And when you are allowed to drive again, I am getting you a map!" The others laughed before settling in for the drive back to the mansion. Bobby parked the car back in its spot and they all climbed out. Hank was talking to Bobby as they left the garage. Kitty grabbed her bags and phased into the house. Remy and Rogue followed her, through the door of course.

They stashed their stuff in the rooms before going out to do their own thing. Kitty and Rogue went to the Brotherhood house while Remy called home. Kitty was eager to see her boyfriend after two weeks and Rogue wanted to talk to Wanda.

Pietro answered the door when they knocked. "Back to see me, babe."

"In your dreams, speedster. Where's your sister?"

"I'll tell you for a kiss, Roguey."

"Okay." Kitty gave Rogue a strange look. "Close your eyes, sugah." Pietro followed her instructions. A second later, he felt a fist come in contact with his stomach, successfully knocking the air out of him. Rogue leaned down to whisper in his ear. "Ah'm engaged. Don't forget it."

"I won't," he gasped.

"Good. Now where is your sister?" Pietro pointed up the steps. "Thanks, sugah." Kitty stood in shock as Rogue went up the steps to find Wanda.

Wanda was laying on her bed reading a book. "Damn, ya need to find something else to do on the weekends, sugah."

The girl looked up to see her best friend. "Hey. Have fun with Remy's family?"

"Always. And Ah found my dress and yours. It's not the one Ah sent ya a picture of. It's nicer."

"Great. Guess this means I'll have to go down to Louisiana to try it on sometime, huh?"

"Sure does. Ya should bring your fake when ya do and we can go out with Remy and his cousins. Ah swear, it's some of the most fun you'll have. Ah've done it a few times."

"Great. Let me know when and I'm in."

"Oh, before Ah forget. Remind me to check on your brother before Ah leave."

"Why?"

Rogue shrugged. "No reason."

* * *

**Sorry for the delay in updating. I was without internet all week or this would've been up sooner. I think this story will have about five more chapters. Anyway, let me know what you think about this one. Thanks reviewers!**


	16. U Stepped Into My Life When I Was Blind

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

* * *

As the wedding got closer, Rogue and Remy made more frequent trips to New Orleans. They had just come back from one such trip. With the wedding now six months away, most of the planning was done and the trips were more like mini-vacations for the couple. 

"What do ya think of this for a centerpiece, sugah?" Rogue asked, showing the arrangement in question to Kurt.

Kurt thought about his answer for a minute. "It's okay."

Rogue perked an eyebrow. "Just okay?"

"Fine, it's wonderful."

"Really? Ah thought that it was one of the ugliest things Ah've ever seen."

Remy chuckled from his position near the sink. Rogue had been baiting the poor boy most of the day. He almost felt sorry for him. He probably would have if Kurt hadn't teleported him off the cliff the previous week.

"Somethin funny, sugah?"

"Non. Not at all."

"What do ya think about it?"

"Whatever y' want, amour."

"That's not an answer."

"That's the only answer you're gonna get from me."

"Nice to know that ya care so much 'bout our weddin."

"I do care bout it, but I'm not walking into a trap that I've seen Kurt walk into every five minutes for the last two hours." Rogue gave her brother an evil grin.

"What?" the blue mutant asked in confusion.

"Didn't' y' notice that she never said what she thought until you gave your opinion?"

"Wait, you've been doing that on purpose? That's mean, Anna." Rogue was laughing at the look of outrage on her brother's face. He teleported away, but Rogue knew that he wasn't really mad.

"Y' and Kurt have got to stop this ongoing war."

"I'm just defendin myself. Not everyone can fly away when someone drops them in the lake." Rogue rolled her eyes and went back to flipping through a magazine. Remy grabbed two drinks out of the fridge and sat down next to her. He knew that she already had the centerpieces picked out, she was just having fun tormenting Kurt.

"Is there much left to do?"

"No. We've got everything pretty much done. Ya got get your groomsmen fitted for tuxes still and Ah need to get my bridesmaids fitted again, but h wasn't planning on doin that until a few weeks before the weddin."

"I know something that we haven't figured out. Where d'ya wanna go for our honeymoon?"

"Ah dunno, sugah. Paris would be great, but Ah'm sure it'd bring back some bad memories for ya." Remy nodded and Rogue continued. "Ah haven't given it much thought, really."

"How 'bout a cruise?"

"To where?"

Remy shrugged. "I've heard that Mediterranean cruises are nice."

"Hmm. Ah kinda like that idea. How long do we want to go for?"

"A month?"

"A month without any responsibility here. Ah love the sound of that."

Remy smiled at her. "And the family happens to own a very nice estate in France if you'd like to spend some time there."

"That sounds wonderful, Rem." Rogue flipped another page before looking up at him. "Let's go out."

"What?"

"Ah wanna do something 'sides sittin 'round here tonight. Let's go dancing." Remy glanced at her in surprise. "What? Ya kept promising that we' go out when we were in Louisiana and we never did. Ah want to do something."

"Fine, we'll go dancing later."

"Thanks." Rogue gave Remy a kiss and left the room. Remy sighed and dropped his head in his hands. She had been like this lately. Remy knew that she wasn't nervous about marrying him, but she seemed to want to be doing something constantly while she was still unmarried.

Rogue went upstairs to Kitty's room. The door was open and her friend was lying on her bed doing homework. "Hey, Kit."

The brunette looked and smiled at her friend. "Like, hey. What's up?"

"Me and Remy are planning on goin dancing later and Ah was wonderin if ya an Lance wanted to come."

"Lance has to work tonight."

"Ya can still come if ya want."

"I'd totally feel like a third wheel."

Rogue frowned. She hadn't really gotten to hang out with her friends that much since she had been busy going back and forth between Bayville, New Orleans, and wherever the hell else the Professor sent them. "Ah've got an idea. Remy didn't really seem to happy about goin out, so how 'bout me ya and Wanda go?"

"I don't want you to, like, blow Remy off."

"Don't worry 'bout it. He'll find something to do."

"He won't care?"

Rogue grinned at the other girl. "Trust me, Ah'll make it u to him."

"There's, like, one problem with your plan."

"What's that?"

"It's Tuesday. There's no place open to go dancing until Friday."

"Damn. You're right. Well, Ah guess we can still go somewhere."

"I'd, like, love to, but I totally have a mountain of homework and a calculus test tomorrow."

"Are ya makin excuses?"

"No, I really do have a lot of homework, but I think that you ad Remy should, like, go do something together. You two almost never go out."

Rogue looked thoughtful. "You're right, Kit. Maybe Ah'll go see if he wants to do something."

Rogue found Remy laying across the couch in rec room. He was flipping channels rapidly. He'd stop every so often when something caught his eye, then go back to flipping. Rogue rolled her eyes and walked in to lean over the back of the couch.

"Hey, chére," Remy said without even looking up.

"Hey, Rem. Ah was thinking that we should go out later."

"You already told me that, amour. 'Member? Ya wanted to go dancing?"

"Ah know, but Kitty reminded me that it was a Tuesday. She also told me that it seems like we never go out. So Ah was wonderin if ya just wanted to go see a movie or something."

Remy sat up and motioned to the seat his feet had been in. Rogue sat down and Remy wrapped an arm around her. "What's up with ya?"

"What are ya talkin 'bout?"

"You're usually more than happy to stay home and just hang out but you've been wanting to go out lately."

"Ah don't know."

"C'mon, Anna. Ya know ya can tell me anythin."

"Ah know, sugah. Ah guess that Ah want to do stuff while Ah still can."

"Chere, it ain't like I'm gonna tie ya up and never let ya outta the house once we get married."

"Ah know, swamp rat. It's just, Ah love ya ad Ah know that Ah want to spend the rest of my life with ya, but Ah don't know if Ah'm ready to get married yet. Ah feel like there's so much Ah haven't done yet."

Remy chuckled and held her tighter. "I still feel like that, amour."

"Yeah, but it' different with ya."

"How?"

"Between your two ex-bosses, you've done plenty."

Remy frowned at her. "Most of the stuff I did with those two was stuff I never wanted to do for as long as I lived."

"Ah know, sugah. Ah'm sorry Ah even brought that up. Ah know that ya didn't want to do half the stuff that monster made ya do. Or even some of the stuff that Magneto made ya do."

"'S okay, chére. What did ya say that ya wanted to do tonight?"

"Ah was gonna ask ya if ya wanted to go see a movie, but Ah think maybe we should just stay here and spend some time together."

"Non. We're goin out. Dinner and a movie, your choice."

Rogue smiled and gave Remy a quick kiss. "Ah'll be ready in a few minutes, sugah." Remy nodded and went to get something to drink while he waited.

True to her word, Rogue came downstairs dressed in a short denim skirt and an emerald green sweater. Remy smiled as his eyes roamed her body. He wasn't the only one. Rogue noticed Bobby and Scott looking at her legs.

"Where do ya think you're goin dressed like that, Stripes?"

Rogue rolled her eyes. "On a date, Logan. And before you even say it, Ah'm not changing. Ah'm old enough to decide for myself what Ah want to wear. 'Sides, it's just Remy," she added with a wink at her fiancé.

"Exactly."

"Much as I'd love to hear this speech again, mon ami, I promised Anna dinner and a movie." Remy wrapped an arm around Rogue's waist as they left the kitchen. "Don't wait up!" Remy called back before the font door closed.

The next morning, Rogue rolled out of bed before Remy. She'd had a great time the night before and her worries about everything had been calmed by spending time with the man she loved. She had just gotten out of the shower when the Professor's voice rang through her head.

_X-Men, please report to the study in an hour._ Rogue rolled her eyes at the intrusion. Her irritation gave way to humor as she watched Remy sit up with a growl.

"Doesn't that man know how to give anyone peace. There's other way to pass on messages without invadin my mind."

"Sorry, sugah, but it's gotta be important if he called a meeting this early. Ya better go take a shower." Rogue watched as he rolled out of bed and pulled on a shirt and a pair of jeans.

"M' gonna take a shower after trainin." He wrapped an arm around her waist and led her toward the door. "Hungry, belle?"

"Starvin."

After breakfast, everyone went to the study. Rogue and Remy took the loveseat while Kitty, Jean, Scott, and Kurt sat on the sofa. Bobby sat in the armchair while Logan leaned against the wall and Ororo sat elegantly on the arm of the loveseat next to Rogue.

All eyes turned to the door expectantly when the Professor came in. "Good morning, all. I am sorry that I had to call such an early meeting, but I wanted to introduce you to your new teammates." Four mutants walked into the room. "You all know Piotr Rasputin and Warren Worthington."

Scott rose and shook Warren's hand. "Good to see you again, Angel."

"I agree, Scott. Rogue," he nodded toward her. "Gambit."

Remy smirked at the tone that Warren said his name in. He had obviously not forgiven him for the Mesmero incident. "Bonjour, homme," he said in greeting before he greeted his old teammate.

"Actually, it's Anna, sugah." Warren looked at her in surprise before turning his attention back to Xavier.

"If I can have your attention, I'd like to introduce your other new teammates," Xavier said with a smile. "I assure you that you all will have time to catch up later." He motioned to the two women behind him and one stepped forward. "This is Elisabeth Braddock."

"Call me Betsy, luv." Rogue took the time to look the girl over. She was a tall Asian with long purple hair and purple eyes. The British accent didn't fit the body.

"And this," Xavier motioned to the second woman, "is Ms. Emma Frost." A tall, beautiful blond stepped forward. She was dressed in a short white skirt and an expensive looking white sweater. Her cool blue eyes swept the room, taking note of the men present.

Rogue looked over at Remy. She saw could see in her eyes that he was as surprised as she was. They were both familiar with Emma Frost.

Rogue tapped into their psychic rapport. _Ya think this is the same Emma Frost, sugah?_

_Oui. I remember her from the one time I met her._

_What the hell is a Hellfire Club member doing here?_

"I'm here because Charles requested for me to join his team." Rogue rolled her eyes as Emma's smooth voice answered her unspoken question. Just what she needed, another telepath.

"I will leave you all to catch up. Emma, please come with me." The blond willingly followed Xavier into his office.

"Who were those two?"

"Which two?"

"The girl with the stripes in her hair and the man with the unusual eyes."

"Anna and Remy. Why?"

"They knew that I was Hellfire."

"Do not worry about it, Emma."

"What's their background?"

"Excuse me?"

"I asked what their background is."

Xavier sighed, but decided to answer her question anyway. "Remy is the son of Jean Luc LeBeau and Anna is the daughter of Marius Bordeaux."

"That's how they knew."

"Knew?"

"The Guild masters are Hellfire members."

Back in the study, Kitty was staring at Betsy. "Can I help you, luv?"

"You're Betsy Braddock?"

"That's what the one in charge said, luv."

"I thought that you were, like, blond."

"Not very often, luv. But that was before I ended up switching bodies."

"How?"

"It's a long story and one that I'd rather not get into because it's a bloody pain to tell."

"Okay." Rogue watched this exchange in amusement. She knew who Betsy Braddock was. Mutant supermodel and telepath. She also knew about her psychic 'knives'. She also remembered hearing her codename before. Psylocke.

"So, Anna, is it now?" Rogue turned and smiled at Angel. She had been on friendly terms with him since they had first met in New York.

"Yeah. Ah was sick of goin by Rogue. Ah don't think it really fits me."

"You know, if it wasn't for the hair, I wouldn't have recognized you."

"Really? Ah don't look that different."

"Yes, you do. You look less like a girl and more like a woman now. You're beautiful."

"I agree, ange."

"I have to admit, I'm surprised that you're here, Gambit."

"It's Remy. After all, we're amis?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

"I'll have to agree if y' keep talkin like that to my fiancé."

"What?"

"Anna is my fiance. We're getting married in August."

"You're kidding me." Warren looked at Rogue.

"No, we're not, sugah. Ah'm marryin Remy."

"Why?"

"Ah love him."

"You've only known him, what, a couple of months."

"Try almost ten years."

"What?" Warren was now in shock.

"Xavier didn't tell ya, did he?" Rogue could tell from his face that the answer was no. "Son of a fuckin bitch. Long story short, Ah've known Remy for a long time, we've been through a lot of shit in our lives, my mother's Mystique and Ah'm getting married in August."

"You're getting married, comrade?"

"Hey, Petey." Rogue smiled at the tall Russian. "He sure is, sugah. He's marryin me."

"How did this happen?"

Remy smirked. "Y' remember how I told y' 'bout Marius?" Piotr nodded. "She's his daughter. When Jean Luc and Marius found out, they had a meeting and decided that our marriage would take the place of the one that I was supposed to have with Belladonna."

"Your father is forcing you into marriage?" he asked Rogue.

"Not at all, sugah. Me and Remy have been engaged for over two years. We just finally set a date. Like Remy said, our fathers were thrilled."

"Why did you not tell us that you were engaged to Rogue before?"

"I couldn't. We agreed to keep it a secret for a while. When we decided to tell everyone, y' were already gone."

"Oh. I am happy for you."

"Thanks, Petey."

* * *

**So sorry that this took so long to get up. The last few weeks have been nuts. Anyway, thanks to all of you who have patiently waiting for this chapter (not that you had much choice or anything). Thanks reviewers and thanks to everyone who's been reading this story so far. I'll try to get the next chapter up within the next week or so, but I can't make any promises. Bye for now.**


	17. Pulled Me Out of the Wreckage JustInTime

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

- - -

"Ya ready, Kit?"

"Like, hang on a second!"

Rogue rolled her eyes and leaned against the doorway. She and Wanda were waiting for Kitty so they could leave. The girls had decided to spend the day in the city, not wanting to spend much time around the mansion.

"Okay, I'm ready." Kitty phased through her door to join the other girls in the hall.

"Wow, Kit." Wanda was eyeing the brunette's bleached jeans and black tee. "You own a black shirt?"

"Apparently. Let's go." Rogue was already walking down the hall. The other two followed her. Rogue hadn't been in the greatest mood since the Professor had sent Remy on a mission with Logan and Piotr two days before.

The girls climbed into Rogue's SUV to make the trip to the city. Neither Rogue nor Wanda trusted Kitty's driving or Lance's Jeep. Soon they were rolling down the highway with the windows down and the radio cranked.

When they got to New York and parked, Rogue stood out from the other people they passed. Since New York had warmed up with the coming of spring, she was wearing her favorite summer accessory: her daisy dukes. Wanda's blended in better with her black capris and red top, but still stood out.

"What do we want to do y'all?" Rogue was looking around as she waited for their answer.

"Shopping." Rogue and Wanda shrugged and let Kitty lead the way to the first store.

"So, Kit, what made ya pull out the black?" Rogue asked as they browsed the racks.

The younger girl shrugged. "I didn't feel like wearing pink." Wanda and Rogue stared at her. "Okay, so I broke up with Lance two days ago."

"That's why he's been so pissy."

"Yeah."

"Why'd ya break up with him? Ah thought y'all were serious."

"Someone else caught my eye."

"Is this someone tall, new, and Russian?" Rogue asked with a smirk.

"Maybe. I love Lance, I really do, but I realized that it's more of a family type love than love love, ya know?" Wanda and Rogue exchanged confused glances. "So we talked and he told me that he was starting to feel the same way. I mean, I still like hanging out with him and we're still friends, but I don't want to date him anymore."

"Ah can understand that. So ya wanna get together with Petey now?"

"Yeah." Kitty frowned at the fact that they had looked through most of the clothes and none of them had found anything yet. "What about you, Wand? Any new love interests?"

"Pyro keeps asking me out. Or at least I think he's asking me out."

"Ya think?"

"He asks me if I'd like to go with him to burn down the place the oppresses the squirrels. I really have no idea what he's talking about."

"Okay," Rogue said slowly. "Ah think Ah'd get his head evaluated."

Wanda just shrugged. "None of us are that worried about it. As long as the house is still standing, we don't care. I don't think we're having any luck here."

Rogue and Kitty agreed with her and they went to the next store. They went through three more stores before stopping for lunch. As they sat down, Rogue noticed someone familiar and waved. Kitty and Wanda looked up to see a dark haired woman winding her way toward their table.

As the woman reached their table, Rogue stood up to give her a hug. "Tessa, Ah ain't seen ya in a long time."

"Same here, Anna."

"Tess, this is Wanda Maximoff and Kitty Pryde. Girls, this is Tessa." Kitty and Wanda eyed the black haired, blue eyed woman. "She's an old friend of Remy's."

"I don't know if old friend really is the words I'd put it in."

"Nice to meet you," Kitty said with a smile. Wanda echoed Kitty's greeting.

"Nice to meet both of you. Anna, I hate to run, but Lucas is waiting for me. We were just heading to Bayville."

"Really? What for?"

"I need to speak to Charles Xavier about a concern that I have."

"You know the Professor?"

"Yes. I used to be closely associated with him. Excuse me." Tessa offered them a smile and they watched her walk away. She grabbed the arm of a large African American man and left the restaurant.

"Anna, Remy keeps some strange company."

"Ah ain't gonna argue with ya on that. Wait until the weddin."

"She's not kidding, Wanda. Wait until you meet some of his family."

"If Ah remember right, Kit, ya had something goin on with Emil."

"No, we're just friends."

"Sure. At least ya got someone to fall back on if ya and the Russian don't work out." Kitty stuck her tongue out at the older girl.

They spent the rest of the day shopping. By the time they were done, all the girls had a few bags. They put them in Rogue's car and drove back to Bayville. They had unloaded their stuff and went to their rooms to put it away.

Rogue had just put away her last shirt when she heard a commotion in the entry. She was on her way to see what was going on when a Cajun curse met her ears. She ran down the hall to see Remy pinned against the front door by the man that had been with Sage.

"Let me go, homme."

Rogue went down the steps and stopped near the two men. "What the hell is going on here?" The man didn't even look at her. He tightened his grip on Remy as Remy tried to swing at him.

Rogue did the first thing that came to mind. "TESSA!" she shouted as loud as she could. The dark haired woman came running into the room.

"Bishop, put him down!" The man in question dropped Remy.

Remy landed in a crouch, thanks to his agility. Rogue rushed to his side as he stood up. He kissed her and then looked at Tessa. "Tess, who the hell is this and what the hell's his problem?"

"This is Lucas. He's here with me, that's all you need to know."

"Sugah, when ya said that ya were comin to see Xavier, Ah didn't think that ya boy there would try to kill my fiancé."

"Neither did I." Tessa frowned at her companion.

"Why do you all insist on disturbing me?" The four in the entry looked up to see Emma. She was wearing tight pants and a white shirt that showed her impressive cleavage.

"Emma," Tessa said coldly.

"Oh, it's you." Emma let her eyes roam over Lucas before going to travel over Remy. She offered the former thief a smile. "Welcome back, Remy."

Remy nodded at the blond and turned his attention to Rogue. "Y' miss me?"

"Not really. Ah got all kinda guys round here ya know." Remy grinned and pulled Rogue to him.

"I know, but are any of em like me?"

"Ya really think Ah could handle more than one of ya?"

"Pro'lly not."

"Anna, luv, I've been looking for you." Rogue turned to see Betsy behind her. "I've got a problem. Can you help me out?"

"What's ya problem?"

"I'm doing a runway this weekend and the agency is short a model. You mind trying out?"

Rogue looked at her in disbelief. "Ya kiddin, right?"

"No. You're tall, thin, fit, and beautiful. You should try it, luv. It's really quite fun."

"How bad do ya need another model?"

"Luv, you think I'd ask if I wasn't bloody desperate?"

"No. Why don't ya ask Emma or Jean?"

"The blond bitch is too short and Jean isn't thin enough."

"What the hell, Ah'll do it."

"Lovely. I can teach you how to walk, but you need to get used to walking in heels."

"Ah can walk in heels, sugah. Just ask Remy."

"She can."

"Smashing. Let's go." Betsy grabbed Rogue's arm and started walking toward the door.

"Where the hell are we going?"

"To the agency. My boss needs to meet you."

"Can Ah change first?"

Betsy eyed her outfit. "Yes, but hurry it up."

Rogue disappeared up the stairs, only to reappear a minute later in a short skirt, a tight button down shirt with the top 2 buttons left undone, and a pair of 5 inch heels. Betsy was impressed that the girl could change that fast.

"Let's go, luv." Betsy once again started toward the door. Rogue gave Remy a kiss before following. Anna climbed into Betsy's purple convertible and they left the mansion.

"Anything Ah should know before we get there?"

"Not really, luv. Just be yourself."

"Ah think Ah can do that." Rogue relaxed for the rest of the drive.

Betsy parked in front of a huge building and motioned to it. "This is it, luv."

"Let's go, then."

As they walked through the building, Betsy gave Rogue tips on her walk and posture. By the time they got to the office they needed, Rogue was more than ready. Betsy walked in and talked to the secretary for a moment before taking a seat. Rogue sat next to her and waited.

They didn't have to wait long. After about five minutes, the secretary called them into the office. A man stood and walked around his desk to greet them. "Betsy, great to see you."

"Hello, Richard." She said as the man gave her a kiss on the cheek. She motioned to Rogue. "This is Anna. I told her about you being short a model for next weekend. She wants to try for it."

The man turned to Rogue. "Hello." He eyed her as he introduced himself. "My my, you've got a set of legs on you, don't you? Have you ever done modeling?"

"Ah did a little bit back home."

"Where are you from?"

"Louisiana originally, but Ah lived in Mississippi for a while."

"Where about?"

"New Orleans and Caldecott."

"Where did you model at?"

"Ah did some local stuff in New Orleans."

"Can I see you walk?"

"Sure, sugah." Rogue walked in a straight line away from him and turned and walked back. Her hips swayed with each step, giving her a sexy, powerful look.

Richard talked with Betsy as Anna walked. "She's sexy, she's powerful, she's gorgeous. I don't think I could have down any better if I had started recruiting, Bets." Rogue struck a pose at the other end and started back toward them.

"I knew you'd like her luv."

"Anna, has Betsy told you what you'll be modeling?"

"No sir."

"Are you comfortable modeling lingerie?"

Rogue shrugged. "Ah don't have a problem with it."

"Good." Richard pushed a button on the intercom and his secretary came in. "Anna is auditioning for the lingerie show. Can you take her to Missy and find something for her to wear?"

"Yes, sir." The secretary motioned to Rogue and she followed her out of the room.

When Rogue came back, she was wearing an emerald push up bra with black lacing and a matching pair of boy short underwear with strappy heels.

"How do you feel?"

Rogue shrugged. "Not much different than a bikini."

"Let me see you walk one more time." Rogue walked away from him and struck a pose. She saw Richard nodding and Betsy smiling as she walked back.

"Great. You have your first job."

"Thank ya. Ah have one question."

"What is that?"

"Does it matter if Ah have a tattoo?"

"Where?" Rogue showed him the tattoo on her hip. "That's quite a piece of artwork. What's the significance?"

"My fiancé has this thing with cards. He's always told me that the queen of hearts is his lucky lady. Ah figure Ah could always use a little extra luck."

"Why the flames?"

"A plain queen of hearts woulda looked kinda boring, don't ya think?"

"It shouldn't make a difference. There are plenty of girls that have some kind of body art."

"Thanks."

"Thank you, Anna. Betsy, keep in touch, doll." The man gave them each a kiss on the cheek before Rogue changed and they left the office.

Betsy looked over at Rogue once they were back in the car. "Will Remy let you do it?"

"In case ya haven't noticed, sugah, Remy lets me do almost anything Ah want."

"I've noticed, luv. Have you finished the wedding plans?"

"Almost. We need to pick the music we want and our first dance song. Ah need to send a few invitations to old friends in foreign countries to make sure that they get there on time."

"Any of these old friends from England?"

"Maybe."

"Have any ideas for the first dance?"

"Ah was thinking about that Guardian Angel song that Kit likes. It's good."

"I don't think I've heard it, luv."

Rogue leaned forward and turned up the radio. Betsy listened to the song in silence. When the song was over, Betsy nodded. "Sounds like a good choice."

"Ah just have to talk to Remy about it. And Ah need to write my vows."

"What about Remy?"

"He's already done his. It was actually his idea."

"What is your secret, luv? I could hardly get Warren to agree to let me move in with him."

"Ah don't have a secret. He wants to get this weddin over with so we can go on with our lives, but he also wants it to be perfect for me."

"What counts as perfect to you?"

"Ah really don't give a damn bout the weddin. As long as Ah'm married to Remy at the end of the day, Ah'm happy."

"I wish Warren and I were like that. He wants to put it off and I want it to be perfect."

"Sugah, Ah've known Remy a long time. Ah know that boy as well as Ah know myself. Ya and Wings'll get there. Just give him some time."

"Oh, I was planning to, luv. I'm too busy to get married right now, but it would still be nice if he'd think about it."

"So ya want him to propose, but ya don't wanna marry him?"

"You make it sound confusing when you say it like that."

"Ah swear, it's easier to follow Kitty's train of thought than it is to follow that." Betsy glared at her before turning back to the road. "That's not nice, luv. How'd you get Remy to propose?"

"My mother killed his fiancé."

"You're joking."

"Nope. Remy was stuck in an arranged marriage that was nearly impossible to get out of. Admittedly, he was cheatin on her with me for a year or so. She figured it out and wanted to kill me. Being an assassin's daughter, she knew how. Ah left town and my mother killed her before following me. Remy knew where we moved to and came to visit me a lot. Sometimes, Ah'd spend a week or so with his family. It was great."

"Now I know why you two are so bloody close."

"We've both been through all kinds of hell in our lives. Most of it was stuff we went through together. It's like that old saying 'What doesn't kill you makes you stronger.' We've dealt with people who tried to kill us because we were together, people who would have killed us if they'd known that we were together, and people who would have serious problems with us if we weren't together. Ya shouldn't worry bout Wings so much. He'll come around." Rogue smiled at the older girl as she walked into the mansion.

Rogue immediately headed upstairs. She found Remy in their room, playing the X-Box. He paused the game and offered her a smile before motioning for her to sit with him. Rogue accepted and stole the control as she sat down. He started to massage her back, distracting her from the game.

Rogue gave him a seductive smile. "Tryin to get laid?"

"Maybe."

A few minutes later, Logan was walking down the hall. H stopped when he smelled the Cajun ad Rogue in their room. Any shock it caused him dissipated into anger as he heard low feminine moans coming from the room.

"Mmm, that feels so good, sugah," he heard Rogue's voice say. There were a few more moans before he heard Rogue's voice again. "Mmm, Remy. Fuck!"

Wasting no time, Logan knocked on the door. "Come in," Rogue's voice called immediately.

"Look, I don't know what the heel you two…" Logan's voice trailed off as he saw Remy sitting behind a fully dressed Rogue on the bed, his hands massaging her back and shoulders. Rogue gave him an amused glance as she paused the video game she was playing.

"Problem, sugah?"

"Nope." Logan closed the door behind him.

As soon as the door was closed, Remy and Rogue started laughing. "What the hell was that?"

"Cheré, ya were moanin loud enough for him to hear and then ya yelled, my name and fuck. What would ya think we were doin?"

"Serves him right if he was planning on interrupting. Besides, we usually turn music on if we're gonna do that so no one overhears. He should know that by now."

* * *

**Wow. Sorry for the really long time between updates. I'm trying to get back on this and get it finished. I hope you like it. Thanks to everyone who has been bearing with me as far as my sporadic updates go.  
**


	18. Now I Can See

**Disclaimer****: I don't own anything.**

- - -

It was a month after the fashion show and Rogue was worn out. Her and Remy had gotten back from Louisiana the night before. She knew that she should be up, but she couldn't bear to drag herself out of her soft, warm bed. Her eyes closed as she drifted off.

Remy came into the room and glanced at the clock. Rogue hadn't gotten up yet and he was worried about her, since it was past three in the afternoon. She hadn't looked well for the past week or two and he was wondering if she was beginning to come down with something.

Remy glanced down at her and noticed that her eyes were open now."You okay, cheré?" he asked, sitting down on the bed next to her.

Rogue offered him a small smile. "Ah think so. Ah'm just tired."

"You sure?" Rogue nodded and sat up. Remy wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the forehead before letting her go.

"Ah need a shower." Rogue disappeared into the bathroom. Remy's concern returned when he heard what sounded like someone throwing up. He knocked on the bathroom door.

"Cheré?" Remy opened the door to find Rogue sitting by the toilet.

"Okay, so maybe Ah'm not fine." Rogue's usually tan face was pale and her sparkling emerald eyes looked tired.

"Maybe you should go back to bed?" He didn't bother mentioning that she had been throwing up for the last three or four days.

"Ah think Ah'm okay now."

"You sure?" Once again, Rogue nodded and stood up. She motioned him out of the bathroom and got into the shower. She really didn't feel so hot, but she had always kept going, even when she was sick.

Rogue finished her shower ad got dressed. When she came out of the bathroom, Remy was gone. She decided to find something she could eat that wouldn't make her sick.

When she got downstairs, Jean and Kitty were in the kitchen.

"So you, like, finally decided to get up?"

"Ah was tired. Have either of ya seen Remy?"

"He was just in here a couple of minutes ago. He seemed worried about something."

Rogue sighed as she dropped into a chair. "He's worried bout me. He heard me throwin up after Ah got up. Do ya know where he went?" Both girls shook their heads. Rogue left to find him.

"Poor Rogue. She, like, didn't look too great."

"I'm sure you wouldn't either if you spent most of the day sleeping and part of the day throwing up. I wonder what's wrong with her?"

"I don't know." Kitty seemed to think for a minute. "Hey, Jean, what if she's, like, pregnant?"

"What?" Jean's green eyes were wide with shock.

"Like, think about it. She's tired, she was throwing up, her and Remy share a room. It's a possibility."

"Kitty, I think she'd tell us if she was pregnant."

"Not if she didn't know."

What Kitty didn't know was that Jubilee had been walking by the kitchen door. The Asian girl stood there in shock for a minute. She'd only heard part of the conversation, but it was enough to figure out who they were talking about. She couldn't believe that Rogue was pregnant. She also couldn't wait to tell the other New Recruits.

Amara and Tabitha were as excited as Jubilee when they heard the news. They wasted no time in telling the boys and Rhane. They all looked at Tabby in shock before settling down in Bobby's room to talk about it, with the exception of Jamie.

Jamie went into the rec room, where Scott, Kurt, and Logan were sitting. "Hey, I have a question."

"Vhat is it, Jamie?"

"How long does it take for a pregnant girl to get fat?" Scott, Kurt, and Logan looked at each other in confusion.

"Why?" Scott asked him.

"I'm just trying to figure out if Rogue'll look fat in her wedding dress."

"WHAT!" Logan's yell could be heard throughout the mansion.

_Logan, come to my office._ Logan growled but followed Xavier's command.

Kurt was sitting in his chair in shock. After a few seconds he started mumbling. "I'll kill him." Before Scott could stop him, he teleported away.

Scott jumped up and ran past Jamie, determined to get to Remy before the other two. After all, he was team leader. He should get first dibs on Gambit.

Meanwhile in the Professor's office, Ororo, Xavier, and Beast sat listening to Logan's rant.

"I can't believe she'd actually let that pond scum touch her."

"Um, Logan, who are you talking about?" Even with his telepathic abilities, Xavier was confused.

Logan ignored him and continued grumbling under his breath.

Downstairs, Scott got to Remy just as Kurt teleported next to him. Kurt was attempting to choke the thief. Remy was holding his own against his future brother in law.

"What's gotten into the elf?"

Scott just glared at Remy while Kurt answered. "I'll kill you for getting my sister pregnant."

"What?" Kurt stopped at the confused look on Remy's face. "Anna's not pregnant."

"That's not what Jamie said." Kurt pounced again, hoping to catch Remy off guard.

Rogue walked in ot see her brother jump at Remy. "Kurt, what the hell are ya doin?"

"I'm fighting vith Gambit."

"Ah can see that. What Ah want to know is why."

"It is my brotherly duty to beat up the man that got you pregnant."

"What the fuck are ya talkin about? Ah'm not pregnant."

"Vhat?" Kurt let go of Gambit and looked at Rogue.

"Where the hell did ya hear something like that?"

"Jamie."

"How would Jamie know anything? Never mind, the boys." Rogue turned on her heel and stalked off to the Professor's office. She didn't bother knocking, just walked in to find Logan pacing while Hank, Xavier, and Storm looked on in confusion.

"Professor, can Ah get ya to call a meetin so Ah can take care of a rumor that's somehow started round here?"

"Stripes, I can't believe that you'd let Gumbo get you pregnant."

"Ah'm not pregnant!" Sensing Rogue's short fuse, Xavier called all the residents to meet in his office immediately. Within five minutes, everyone was seated.

"Ah don't know who started this rumor, but Ah swear to God that Ah ain't pregnant. And Ah swear that if something like this happens again, there will be hell to pay."

Amara looked at her. "If you aren't pregnant, than what's wrong with you?"

"Ah think have the flu. Ah got sick when we were in Louisiana. Half of Remy's family were down with the flu."

"Ew. Stay away from me." Amara was already backing away. "I don't need to get sick." Rogue rolled her eyes at the princess.

"Anna, you should be in bed," Beast admonished her. "You can either go back to bed or you can go down to infirmary."

"Ah'll go back to my own room."

"If you get worse, you know where to find me." Rogue nodded and went back upstairs. She really did feel like going back to sleep until her flu blew over.

Remy followed Rogue back up to there room. He hated it when she was sick. He hated the feeling of knowing that there was something wrong with the love of his life that he couldn't fix. "You need anything?"

"Ah think Ah'm good for now, but thanks." Rogue crawled back into bed and motioned for Remy to climb in next to her. He obliged and wrapped her in his arms. Rogue buried her face in his shoulder. "Ah can't believe that everyone thought Ah was pregnant."

"You gotta admit, cheré, it was funny."

"Yeah, the sight of my brother trying to strangle my future husband was hilarious." Rogue snuggled closer to Remy. "You're so warm, sugah."

Remy frowned and tilted Rogue's chin up so he could look at her. He laid his hand against her forehead. "Cheré, I'm not that warm. You've got a fever. You should go to sleep."

"Ah'm not that tired." Rogue's claim was met with a raised eyebrow as Remy took in her drooping eyelids. "Okay, so maybe Ah am tired. Ah'll go to sleep on one condition."

"What's that, cheré?"

"Stay with me. Ah've gotten so used to you being around when Ah'm sleeping that Ah can't go to sleep if you're not there."

"Alright, just let me grab a trashcan or something in case you need to throw up again."

"Alright." Rogue rolled over on her side and pulled the covers up to her chin. She was freezing and her head was killing her. She sighed as Remy climbed into bed with her. She was already drifting off when she felt him wrap his arms around her and pull her back against his chest.

It took Rogue another week to get over the flu and back into the swing of things. She was currently watching TV because Logan had banned her from training until he was sure she was fully recovered from the flu. She growled and flipped the channels. She hated being inactive for any reason.

Rogue sat up when she heard a commotion in the hall. As the voices got louder, she went to see what was going on. She saw Bobby take a step forward so that he was nose to nose with Scott.

"What the hell's your problem?" Bobby yelled at their leader.

"I don't have a problem. He was out of line!"

"He was trying to save your ass!"

"What is goin on here?" Rogue asked. Both men turned to look at her. Scott looked away and Bobby looked at his feet. "Y'all have something ya need to tell me or am Ah just that bad lookin?"

Bobby looked up. "Ask our oh-so-great team leader that question." Bobby stalked away to another part of the mansion.

"What was he talkin about?"

"Um, we kinda had someone get hurt during training this morning." Rogue raised an eyebrow. "He's unconscious down in the med lab."

Rogue shrugged. "Y'all must have run one hell of a session to knock Logan out."

"Not Logan." Scott cringed as realization dawned in Rogue's eyes. He deserved the cold look she gave him before she walked away.

Rogue used the walk down to the med lab to get control over herself. She wanted to throttle Scott. Rogue walked into the med lab and looked around for Beast.

"Mr. McCoy? Ya in here?"

"Back here, Anna." Rogue followed his voice to the back room. She saw Remy laying in one of the beds.

"I figured you'd be down here as soon as you found out."

"What's wrong with him?"

"He's probably got a concussion in addition to broken ribs. At first I thought that he may have punctured a lung, but the blood he coughed up was from where he bit his tongue."

"What happened?"

"They were training with sentinels. As you know, Remy is nearly impossible to land a hit on due to his agility. The team was holding their own until a third sentinel came into play. Scott was trying to keep one of them away from Jean and didn't notice the third sentinel. Remy did, however. He shoved Scott out of the way of the sentinel's cannon, only to get hit with a blast himself. The force of the blast caused him to hit a brick wall. Normally, this wouldn't hurt anyone, since it is the danger room, but the 'brick wall' was actually one of the danger room walls. It knocked him out cold and the force with which he hit the wall caused three of his ribs to break and another two to bruise. He narrowly missed being impaled by a piece of metal sticking out from the wall.

"Logan stopped the session immediately. Remy was sent in here, along with Kitty who suffered a burn from a laser. I believe that Logan had a discussion with Scott about getting distracted during training exercises and what could have happened had it been a real mission."

"Ah'm gonna kill him," Rogue muttered. Hank raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.

"I believe that Mr. LeBeau should be up soon. I'll want him to stay down here for a few days to be sure that there are no complications from his injuries. You are more than welcome to stay with him if you'd like."

"Ya think Ah'd be anywhere else?"

"No. I've got a few things that I need to take care of. You can stay here with Mr. LeBeau, come with me, or go back upstairs. It's your choice."

"Ah'm gonna stay with Remy."

Hank smiled. "That's what I thought you'd pick. I'll be in my lab. Can you inform me when he wakes up?"

"Of course, sugah."

"You know, I really thought you'd have been more worried."

"Sugah, this man has cracked more ribs than people do wishbones at Thanksgiving." Hank chuckled at Rogue's choice of words and closed the door behind him.

As Hank left, Rogue settled into one of the chairs by Remy's bedside. She'd have been more worried if she hadn't known Remy for as long as she had. But over the years, she'd seen him shot at, stabbed, and beaten up more times than she could count. He'd had hits put out on him and the princess of the Assassins out for his blood. Getting knocked out was a minor injury. The bruised ribs would be a bitch, but they weren't anything major either.

Remy groaned and opened his eyes. He quickly shut them again because of the bright overhead lights. He turned his head to the side so that he wasn't staring into the light and opened his eyes again. He noticed Rogue moving towards him.

"Hey, cheré." Remy offered her a smile and tried to sit up. Rogue was immediately at his side as he groaned again and fell back against the bed. "Damn, that hurt."

Rogue rolled her eyes. "Ya broke some ribs. How's your head?"

"No worse than usual," he replied with an easy smile.

"Ah'm gonna go get Beast. Don't ya even try to get out of that bed until he checks ya over." She was back a second later with the blue doctor.

"How are you feeling, Mr. LeBeau?"

"Like I got slammed against something."

"Indeed, you were. The Danger Room has quite strong walls."

"Merde." Remy groaned. "What's the damage?"

"Three broken ribs, at least two bruised ribs, and a mild concussion. I'll release you as long as you promise me that you will go to bed and stay there until morning, at least. From what Anna has told me, I'm sure you know what complications may arise and their symptoms. If you have any problems, you know where to find me. And don't push yourself, Remy. You know what your limits are and I would strongly advise not testing them."

"Thanks." Remy carefully slid out of the bed. Rogue immediately moved to where she could support some of his weight. She could feel the bandages wrapped around his torso through his thin t-shirt. After debating for a minute, Rogue used Kurt's powers to teleport them to their room. She figured that it had to be easier than trying to climb all the steps with an injured Remy.

"Ah'm going down to get something to eat. Ya want anythin?" Rogue asked as Remy got comfortable on their bed.

"Non. I'm good." He leaned back against the pillows and closed his eyes. Rogue smiled and went to grab some food.

After Rogue ate, she went back upstairs and climbed in bed. She was tired and she knew that Remy liked sleeping alone as much as she did. She felt Remy try to pull her close against him.

"Sugah, it's gonna hurt if ya pull me that close."

"You're right." Rogue could hear the unhappiness in his tone. He loved nothing better than to go to sleep with her in his arms, her back against his chest. She rolled over and carefully laid her head on his chest. It wasn't quite what he wanted, but it was close enough. He hooked an arm around her waist and drifted back off.

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**I know it's been a while and this isn't the best chapter. I apologize. I figured that I'd get this up, since I'm busy all week and only have two weeks until I go back to school. I hope you enjoy and I'll try to get another chapter up soon. Thanks reviewers! I love you guys! And thanks to those who have stuck with me despite my sporadic updates.**


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